E 

340 


UC-NRLF 


o 


LO 
O 


LIFE 


OF 


JOHN     C.    CALHOUN. 


PRESENTING     A    CONDENSED 


HISTORY  OP  POLITICAL  EVENTS 


FROM   1811    TO    1843. 


NE  W-YOR  K: 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  82  CLIFF-STREET, 

1843. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1813,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


LIFE... 

OF  .      „'    j  t    f       ^  „     ,    . 

JOHN    C.     C  A  L   H  0  U   N. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Including  the  Period  from  his  Infancy  until  he  entered  Congress. 

THE  object  of  the  present  memoir  of  JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN  is  not  to 
present  a  biography  of  the  man,  but  to  describe  him  as  a  statesman ;  to 
draw  and  to  develop  his  character  in  that  capacity,  and  to  trace  his  emi 
nent  public  services  during  a  long  career  in  one  of  the  most  eventful  pe 
riods  of  human  history.  To  dwell  on  a  character  like  his,  distinguished 
by  every  trait  that  should  win  esteem  and  command  admiration,  would  be 
to  the  biographer  a  most  attractive  labour;  but  the  pleasure  of  depicting 
a  private  life  elevated  by  spotless  purity  and  integrity,  and  a  severe  sim 
plicity  of  tastes  and  habits,  must  be  relinquished — except  so  far  as  occa 
sional  reference  to  his  early  history  may  become  necessary — for  the  high 
er  duty  of  portraying  his  intellectual  features,  and  of  explaining  his  mo 
tives  and  conduct  as  a  public  man.  It  is  not  our  aim  to  commend  him  to 
public  affection,  or  to  enlist  popular  sympathy  in  his  behalf,  but  rather  to 
show  to  the  world,  not  for  his  sake,  but  for  its  own  instruction,  the  deep 
influence  of  this  master-mind  upon  the  great  political  events  of  his  age. 
A  fair  and  impartial  review  of  the  career  of  this  eminent  statesman  in 
connexion  with  public  affairs,  is  necessary  to  a  thorough  understanding 
of  the  course  of  our  own  government  for  nearly  two  thirds  of  its  existence. 
Such  a  review,  it  is  believed,  would  be  no  unacceptable  offering  at  the 
present  time.  Throughout  the  whole  period  from  18JJ  up  to  the  pres 
ent  time  he  has  served  the  Union  ir>  the  various  capacities  of  Represent 
ative,  Secretary  of  War,  Vice-president,  and  Senator.  He  has  taken 
a  prominent  and  influential  pare  in  all  the  great  questions  which  have 
arisen  during  that  long  interval,'  and,  although  he  has  asked  a  release  L 
from  farther  public  service,  it  is  not  impossible  that  he  mny  be  destined  fl. 
to  close  his  career  as  a  statesman  in  another  and  a  higher  station.  With  W 
faculties  unclouded,  wich  physical  powers  unimpaired,  with  a  judgment  • 
matured  by  observation  and  experience,  with  an  intrepidity  untamed  by 
the  many  trying  vicissitudes  of  his  extraordinary  life,  and  with  an  activity 
whose  energies  are  unabated  by  time,  it  is  probable  that  the  American" 
people  will  not  dispense  with  such  services  as  he  might  render  in  the 
highest  sphere  open  to  American  statesmen. 

Mr.  Calhoun  is  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  born  in  Abbeville 
District  on  the  18th  of  March,  1782.  His  family  is  Irish  on  both  sides. 
His  father,  Patrick  Calhoun,  was  born  in  Donegal,  in  Ireland,  but  the  fam 
ily  emigrated  when  Patrick  was  a  child,  first  to  Pennsylvania,  where  they  • 
remained  some  years,  and  then  to  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  from 
whence  they  were  driven  by  the  Indians  after  Braddock's  defeat.  They 


425740 


4  'I'..:        LIFE  DF'  JOiLS  C.  CALHOUN. 

removed  fina^v:  Ip.'S^^aroli^V^G,  when  Patrick  settled  on  the 
place  where .f^^ject  'of  thYs -stat'ch  Was  born,  and  which  still  continues 
in  the  family  of  his  younger  brother.     His  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Caldwell,  was  born   in  Charlotte  County,  Virginia.     They   had   five 
children,  one  daughter  and  four  sons,  of  whom  John  was  the  youngest  but 
one.     He  was  called  after  his  maternal  uncle,  Major  John  Caldwell,  whom 
the  Tories  had  murdered  in  cold  blood,  and  in  his  own  yard,  after  destroy 
ing  his"'hoii«e  by\frn!. :  1f;  trme  permitted,  it  might  be  interesting  here  to 
trace  the  'effect  which  tne'traditions  of  the  stirring  scenes  of  a  pioneer  s 
life  raig&thavq-hvifl'-upoh  Ae  ntind  and  character  of  young  Calhoun. 
paternal-"  and  Triatemar-ra-miiy-  both  being  Whig,  they  were   exposed  not 
only  to  hostile  Indian  incursions,  but  also  to  Tory  outrages.     They  main 
tained  their  foothold  on  the  soil  despite  the  conflicts  of  an  almost  con 
stant  border  warfare,  and  adhered  to  their  country  amid  the  horrors  of 
civil  strife  and  in  the  face  of  foreign  invaders.     But  they  had  need  both 
of  courage  and  constancy  to  bear  them  through  the  severe  trials  to  which 
they  were  exposed.     Of  three  maternal  uncles  able  to  bear  arms,  one  per 
ished  as  we  have  before  described,  another  fell  at  the  battle  of  Cowpens 
with  thirty  sabre  wounds,  and  a  third,  taken  prisoner  by  the  English,  was 
immured  for  nine  months  in  the  dungeons  of  St.  Augustine.     Nor  was 
Patrick  Calhoun,  the  father,  indebted  to  anything  less  than  a  strong  arm 
and  a  stout  heart  for  his  escape  from  the  perils  which  surrounded  him. 
Upon  one  occasion,  with  thirteen  other  whites,  he  maintained  a  desperate 
conflict  for  hours  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  until,  overwhelmed  by  su 
perior  numbers,  he  was  forced  to  retreat,  leaving  seven  of  his  companions 
dead  upon  the  field.     Three  days  after,  they  returned  to  bury  their  dead, 
and  found  the  bodies  of  twenty-three  Indian  warriors,  who  had  perished 
in  the  same  conflict.     At  another  time,  he  was  singled  out  by  an  Indian 
distinguished  for  his  prowess  as  a  chief  and  for  his  skill  with  the  rifle. 
The  Indian  taking  to  a  tree,  Calhoun  secured  himself  behind  a  log,  from 
whence  he  drew  the  Indian's  fire  four  times  by  holding  his  hat  on  a  stick 
a  little  above  his  hiding-place.     The. Indian  at  length  exhibited  a  portion 
of  his  person  in  an  effort  to  ascertain  the  effect  of  his  shot,  when  he  re 
ceived  a  ball  from  his  enemy  in  the  shoulder,  which  forced  him  to  fly. 
But  the  hat  exhibited  the  traces  of  four  balls  by  which  it  had  been  perfo 
rated.     The  effect  of  this  mode  of  life  upon  a  mind  naturally  strong  and 
inquisitive  was  to  create  a  certain  degree  of  contempt  for  the  forms  of 
civilized  life,  and  for  all  that  was  merely  conventional  in   society.     He 
claimed  all  the  rights  which  nature  and  reason  seemed  to  establish,  and 
he  acknowledged  no  obligation  which  was  not  supported  by  the  like  sanc 
tions.     It  was  under  this  conviction  tha*,  upon  one  occasion,  he  and  his 
neighbours  went  down  within  twenty-three  miles  of  Charleston,  armed 
with  rifles,  to  exercise  a  right  of  suffrage  vhich  had  been  disputed  :    a 
contest  which  ended  in  electing  him  to  the  Legislature  of  the  state,  ia 
which  body   he  served  for  thirty  years.     Relying  upon   virtue,  reason, 
and  courage  as  all  that  constituted  the  true  moral  strength  of  man,  he  at 
tached  too  little  importance  to  mere  information,  and  never  feared  to  en- 
counter  an  adversary  who,  in  that  respect,  had  the  advantage  over  him  :  a 
confidence  which  many  of  the  events  of  his  life  seemed  to  justify.     In 
deed,  he   once   appeared  as  his  own  advocate  in  a  case  in  Virginia,  in 
\vh  irh  he  recovered  a  tract  of  land  in  despite  of  the  regularly-trained  dispu- 
tants  who  sought  to  embarrass  and  defeat  him.     He  opposed  the  Federal 
Constitution,  because,  as  he  said,  it  permitted  other  people  than  those  of 
South  Carolina  to  tax  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  and  thus  allowed  tax 
ation  without  representation,  which  was  a  violation  of  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  5 

We  have  heard  his  son  say  that  among  his  earliest  recollections  was 
one  of  a  conversation  when  he  was  nine  years  of  age,  in  which  his  father 
maintained  that  government  to  be  best  which  allowed  the  largest  amount 
of  individual  liberty  compatible  with  social  order  and  tranquillity,  and  in 
sisted  that  the  improvements  in  political  science  would  be  found  to  consist 
in  throwing  off  many  of  the  restraints  then  imposed  by  law,  and  deemed  / 
necessary  to  an  organized  society.  It  may  well  be  supposed  that  his  son 
John  was  an  attentive  and  eager  auditor,  and  such  lessons  as  these  must 
doubtless  have  served  to  encourage  that  free  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  that 
intrepid  zeal  for  truth  for  which  he  has  been  since  so  much  distinguished. 
The  mode  of  thinking  which  was  thus  encouraged  may,  perhaps,  have 
compensated  in  some  degree  the  want  of  those  early  advantages  which 
are  generally  deemed  indispensable  to  great  intellectual  progress.  Of 
these  he  had  comparatively  few.  But  this  was  compensated  by  those 
natural  gifts  which  give  great  minds  the  mastery  over  difficulties  which 
the  timid  regard  as  insuperable.  Indeed,  we  have  here  another  of  those 
rare  instances  in  which  the  hardiness  of  natural  genius  is  seen  to  defy  all 
obstacles,  and  develops  its  flower  and  matures  its  fruit  under  circum 
stances  apparently  the  most  unpropitious. 

The  section  of  the  country  in  which  his  family  resided  was  then  newly 
settled,  and  in  a  rude  frontier  state.  There  was  not  an  academy  in  all  the 
upper  part  of  the  state,  and  none  within  fifty  miles,  except  one  at  about 
that  distance  in  Columbia  county,  Georgia,  which  was  kept  by  his  broth 
er-in-law,  Mr.  Waddell,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  There  were  but  a  few 
scattered  schools  in  the  whole  of  that  region,  and  these  were  such  as  are 
usually  found  on  the  frontier,  in  which  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic 
were  imperfectly  taught.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  placed  under  the 
charge  of  his  brother-in-law  to  receive  his  education.  Shortly  after,  his 
father  died  ;  this  was  followed  by  the  death  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Waddell, 
within  a  few  weeks,  and  the  academy  was  then  discontinued,  which  sus-  , 
pended  his  education  before  it  had  fairly  commenced.  His  brother-in- 
law,  with  whom  he  was  still  left,  was  absent  the  greater  part  of  the  time, 
attending  to  his  clerical  duties,  and  his  pupil  thus  found  himself  on  a  se 
cluded  plantation,  without  any  white  companion  during  the  greater  por 
tion  of  the  time.  A  situation  apparently  so  unfavourable  to  improvement 
turned  out,  in  his  case,  to  be  the  reverse.  Fortunately  for  him,  there  was  a 
small  circulating  library  in  the  house,  of  which  his  brother-in-law  was  libra 
rian,  and,  in  the  absence  of  all  company  and  amusements,  that  attracted 
his  attention.  His  taste,  although  undirected,  led  him  to  history,  to  the 
neglect  of  novels  and  other  lighter  reading  ;  and  so  deeply  was  he  inter 
ested,  that  in  a  short  time  he  read  the  whole  of  the  small  stock  of  his 
torical  works  contained  in  the  library,  consisting  of  Eollin's  Ancient  His 
tory,  Robertson's  Charles  V.,  his  South  America,  and  Voltaire's  Charles 
XII.  After  despatching  these,  he  turned  with  like  eagerness  to  Cook's 
Voyages  (the  large  edition),  a  small  volume  of  Essays  by  Brown,  and 
Locke  on  the  Understanding,  which  he  read  as  far  as  the  chapter  on  In 
finity.  All  this  was  the  work  f  f  fcut  fourteen  weeks.  So  intense  was  his 
application  that  his  eyes  became  seriously  affected,  his  countenance  pal 
lid,  and  his  frame  emaciated.  His  mother,  alarmed  at  the  intelligence  of 
his  health,  sent  for  him  home,  where  exercise  and  amusement  soon  re 
stored  his  strength,  and  he  acquired  a  fondness  for  hunting,  fishing,  and 
other  country  sports.  Four  years  passed  away  in  these  pursuits,  and  in 
attention  to  the  business  of  the  farm  while  his  elder  brothers  were  absent, 
to  the  entire  neglect  of  his  education.  But  the  time*  was  not  lost.  Exer 
cise  and  rural  sports  invigorated  his  frame,  while  his  labours  on  the  farm 


gave  him  a  taste  for  agriculture,  which  he  has  always  retained,  and  in  the 


6  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

pursuit  of  which  he  finds  delightful  occupation  for  his  intervals  of  leisure  from 
public  duties. 

About  this  time  an  incident  occurred  upon  which  turned  his  after  life.  His 
second  brother,  James,  who  had  been  placed  at  a  counting-house  in  Charles 
ton,  returned  to  spend  the  summer  of  1800  at  home.  John  had  determined 
to  become  a  planter ;  but  James,  objecting  to  this,  strongly  urged  him  to  ac 
quire  a  good  education,  and  pursue  one  of  the  learned  professions.  He  re 
plied  that  he  was  not  averse  to  the  course  advised,  but  there  were  two  difficul 
ties  in  the  way :  one  was  to  obtain  the  assent  of  his  mother,  without  which  he 
could  not  think  of  leaving  her,  and  the  other  was  the  want  of  means.  He  said 
his  property  was  small  and  his  resolution  fixed  :  he  would  far  rather  be  a 
planter  than  a  half-informed  physician  or  lawyer.  With  this  determination,  he 
could  not  bring  his  mind  to  select  either  without  ample  preparation ;  but  if  the 
consent  of  their  mother  should  be  freely  given,  and  he  (James)  thought  he 
could  so  manage  his  property  as  to  keep  him  in  funds  for  seven  years  of  study 
preparatory  to  entering  his  profession,  he  would  leave  home  and  commence  his 
education  the  next  week.  His  mother  and  brother  agreeing  to  his  conditions,  he 
i  accordingly  left  home  the  next  week  for  Dr.  Waddell's,  who  had  married  again, 
A  and  resumed  his  academy  in  Columbia  county,  Georgia.  This  was  in  June, 
1800,  in  the  beginning  of  his  19th  year,  at  which  time  it  may  be  said  he  com 
menced  his  education,  his  tuition  having  been  previously  very  imperfect,  and 
confined  to  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  in  an  ordinary  country  school.  His 
progress  here  was  so  rapid  that  in  two  years  he  entered  the  junior  class  of  Yale 
College,  and  graduated  with  distinction  in  1804,  just  four  years  from  the  time 
he  commenced  his  Latin  grammar.  He  was  highly  esteemed  by  Dr.  Dwight, 
then  the  president  of  the  college,  although  they  differed  widely  in  politics,  and 
at  a  time  when  political  feelings  were  intensely  bitter.  The  doctor  was  an 
ardent  Federalist,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  was  one  of  a  very  few,  in  a  class  of  more 
than  seventy,  who  had  the  firmness  openly  to  avow  and  maintain  the  opinions 
^  of  the  Republican  party,  and,  among  others,  that  the  people  were  the  only  le 
gitimate  source  of  political  power.  Dr.  Dwight  entertained  a  different  opinion. 
In  a  recitation  during  the  senior  year,  on  the  chapter  on  Politics  in  Paley's 
Moral  Philosophy,  the  doctor,  with  the  intention  of  eliciting  his  opinion,  pro 
pounded  to  Mr.  Calhoun  the  question,  as  to  the  legitimate  source  of  power.  He 
did  not  decline  an  open  and  direct  avowal  of  his  opinion.  A  discussion  ensued 
between  them,  which  exhausted  the  time  allotted  for  the  recitation,  and  in  which 
the  pupil  maintained  his  opinions  with  such  vigour  of  argument  and  success  as 
to  elicit  from  his  distinguished  teacher  the  declaration,  in  speaking  of  him  to  a 
friend,  that  "  the  young  man  had  talent  enough  to  be  President  of  the  United 
States,"  which  he  accompanied  by  a  prediction  that  he  would  one  day  attain 
that  station. 

An  English  oration  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Calhoun  at  the  Commencement. 
He  selected  for  his  thesis,  "  The  qualifications  necessary  to  constitute  a  perfect 
statesman,"  and  prepared  his  oration,  but  was  prevented  from  delivering  it  by  a 
severe  indisposition.  After  graduating,  he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  and 
devoted  three  years  to  that  and  miscellaneous  reading,  eighteen  months  of  which 
were  spent  at  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  whef3  %  celebrated  law-school  was  kept 
at  that  time  by  Judge  Reeves  and  Mr.gGould.  He  acquired  great  distinction  at 
the  school.  It  was  there  that  he  sicctssfully  cultivated,  in  a  debating  society, 
his  talrnts  for  extemporary  speaking.  The  residue  of  the  time  was  spent  in  the 
offices  of  Mr.  De  Saussure,  of  Charleston  (afterward  chancellor),  and  of  Mr. 
George  Bowie,  of  Abbeville.  Having  spent  seven  years  in  preparation,  accord 
ing  to  his  determination  when  he  commenced  his  education,  and  having  passed 
his  examination  for  admission  to  the  bar,  he  began  the  practice  of  law  in  his  na- 
tivr  district.  11«-  n>st  at  once  into  full  practice,  taking  a  stand  with  the  oldest 
and  ablest  lawyers  on  the  circuit. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  7 

He  continued  but  a  short  time  at  the  bar.  While  he  was  yet  a  student,  after 
his  return  from  Litchfield  to  Abbeville,  an  incident  occurred  which  agitated  the 
whole  Union,  and  contributed  to  give  to  Mr.  Calhoun's  life,  at  that  early  period, 
the  political  direction  which  it  has  ever  since  kept — the  attack  of  the  English 
frigate  Leopard  on  the  American  frigate  Chesapeake.  It  led  to  public  meetings  all 
over  the  Union,  in  which  resolutions  were  passed  expressive  of  the  indignation 
of  the  people,  and  their  firm  resolve  to  stand  by  the  government  in  whatever 
measure  it  might  think  proper  to  adopt  to  redress  the  outrage.  At  that  called 
in  his  native  district,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  committee  to  prepare  a  report 
and  resolutions  to  be  presented  to  a  meeting  to  be  convened  to  receive  them  on 
an  appointed  day.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  requested  by  the  committee  to  prepare 
them,  which  he  did  so  much  to  their  satisfaction,  that  he  was  appointed  to  ad 
dress  the  meeting  on  the  occasion  before  the  vote  was  taken  on  the  resolutions. 
The  meeting  was  large,  and  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  appeared  before 
the  public.  He  acquitted  himself  with  such  success  that  his  name  was  pre 
sented  as  a  candidate  for  the  state  Legislature  at  the  next  election.  He  was 
elected  at  the  head  of  the  ticket,  and  at  a  time  when  the  prejudice  against  law 
yers  was  so  strong  in  the  district  that  no  one  of  the  profession  who  had  offered 
for  many  years  previously  had  ever  succeeded.  This  was  the  commencement 
of  his  political  life,  and  the  first  evidence  he  ever  received  of  the  confidence  of 
the  people  of  the  state — a  confidence  which  has  continued  ever  since  constantly 
increasing,  without  interruption  or  reaction,  for  the  third  of  a  century  ;  and  which, 
for  its  duration,  universality,  and  strength,  may  be  said  to  be  without  a  parallel 
in  any  other  state,  or  in  the  case  of  any  other  public  man. 

He  served  two  sessions  in  the  state  Legislature.  It  was  not  long  after  He" 
took  his  seat  before  he  distinguished  himself.  Early  in  the  session  an  informal 
meeting  of  the  Republican  portion  of  the  members  was  called  to  nominate  can 
didates  for  the  places  of  President  and  Vice-president  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Madison  was  nominated  for  the  presidency  without  opposition.  When 
the  nomination  for  the  vice-presidency  was  presented,  Mr.  Calhoun  embraced 
the  occasion  to  present  his  opinion  in  reference  to  coming  events,  as  bearing 
on  the  nomination.  He  reviewed  the  state  of  the  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  and  France,  the  two  great  belligerents  which  wer^ 
then  struggling  for  mastery,  and  in  their  struggle  trampling  on  the  rights  of  neu 
trals,  and  especially  ours  ;  he  touched  on  the  restrictive  system  which  had  been 
resorted  to  by  the  government  t$  protect  our  rights,  and  expressed  his  doubt  of 
its  efficacy,  and  the  conviction  that  a  war  with  Great  Britain  would  be  una- 
voidable.  "  It  was,"  he  sjdd,  "  in  this  state  of  things,  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  should  be  preserved  undisturbed  and  un 
broken  by  faction  or  Discord."  He  then  adverted  to  the  fact,  that  a  discontent 
ed  portion  of  the  party  had  given  unequivocal  evidence  of  rallying  round  the 
name  of  the  venerate  vice-president,  George  Clinton  (whose  re-nomination  was 
proposed),  and  of  whom  he  spoke  highly ;  but  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that  should 
he  be  nominated  and  re-elected,  he  would  become  the  nucleus  of  all  the  dis 
contented  portion  of  the  party,  and  thus  make  a  formidable  division  in  its  ranks 
should  the  country  be  forced  into  war.  These  persons,  he  predicted,  would  ulti 
mately  rally  under  De  Witt  Clinton,  the  nephew,  whom  he  described  as  a  man 
of  distinguished  talents  and  aspiring  disposition.  To  av«i^r  the  danger,  he  sug 
gested  for  nomination  the  name  of  John  Jjangdon,  of  N^w-Hampshire,  of  whom 
he  spoke  highly  both  as  to  talents  and  patriotism. 

It  was  Mr.  Cadhfun's  first  effort  in  a  public  cajiacity.  The  manner  and  mat 
ter  excited  great  applause ;  and  when  it  is  recolltcted  that  these  remarks  pre 
ceded  the  declaration  of  war  more  than  three  years,  and  how  events  happened 
according  to  his  anticipations,  it  affords  a  striking  proof  of  that  sagacity,  at  so 
early  a  period,  for  which  he  has  since  been  so  much  distinguished.  It  at  once 
gave  him  a  stand  among  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  Legislature. 


8  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

During  the  short  period  he  remained  a  member,  he  originated  and  carried 
through  several  measures,  which  proved  in  practice  to  be  salutary,  and  have 
become  a  permanent  portion  of  the  legislation  of  the  state. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Including  the  period  from  his  entering  Congress  until  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  War. 

I\  the  mean  time,  the  growing  difficulties  in  our  foreign  relations,  especially 
with  Great  Britain,  impressed  the  community  at  large  with  the  belief  that  war 
with  that  formidable  power  was  approaching.  The  impression  naturally  turned 
the  attention  of  the  people,  in  selecting  candidates  for  Congress,  to  those  whom 
they  believed  to  be  the  most  competent  to  serve  them  at  so  trying  a  period. 
The  eyes  of  the  congressional  district  in  which  Mr.  Calhoun  resided  were 
turned  towards  him,  and  he  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority  over  his 
opponent.  This  was  in  the  fall  of  18 10,  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation  a  year  afterward,  in  the  first  session  of  the  twelfth  Congress, 
known  as  the  war  session,  with  his  two  distinguished  colleagues,  Mr.  Cheves 
and  Mr.  Lowndes,  who,  like  himself,  had  been  elected  in  reference  to  the  critical 
condition  of  the  country.  His  reputation  had  preceded  him,  and  he  was  placed 

x  second  on  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  which,  in  the  existing  state  of  our 
relations  with  the  two  great  belligerents,  was  regarded  as  the  most  important  of 
the  committees,  and  was,  accordingly,  filled  by  members  selected  in  reference 
to  the  magnitude  of  its  duties.  The  other  distinguished  individuals  who  com 
posed  it  were  Peter  B.  Porter,  the  chairman,  and  Felix  Grundy,  of  Tennessee, 
on  the  Republican  side,  and  John  Randolph  and  PWttip  Barton  Key  on  the  other. 
It  was,  indeed,  an  eventful  period  of  our  history,  and  the  duties  which  it  imposed 
on  the  committee  were  of  the  most  difficult  and  responsible  character. 

It  is  not  easy,  at  this  day,  to  estimate  the  magnitude  of  the  crisis.  Our  pres 
ent  government  had  its  origin  just  preceding  the  commencement  of  the  great 
Revolution  in  France,  which,  in  its  progress,  involved  her  in  a  war  without  ex 
ample  or  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world,  taking  into  estimate  its  cause,  ex 
tent,  duration,  the  immensity  of  force  brought  igto  conflict,  the  skill  which  di 
rected  it,  the  variety  and  magnitude  of  its  incicjbnts,  and  the  importance  of  the 

*  stake  at  issue.  England  was  the  great  antagonist  power  to  France  in  this 
mighty  struggle,  whose  shocks  reached  even  our  distant  shores.  From  the  be 
ginning,  our  mutual  rights  were  invaded  by  both  sidles,  and  our  peace  endan 
gered  ;  but  so  recently  had  our  government  been  established,  so  hazardous  was 
it  to  put  it  to  the  test  of  war,  and  especially  in  such  a  struggle,  and  so  advan 
tageous  to  our  commerce  and  prosperity  was  our  position  <js  a  neutral  power, 
while  all  Europe  was  at  war,  that  it  became  the  fixed  policy  of  the  government 
to  preserve  peace  and  bear  wrongs,  so  long  as  the  one  could  be  preserved  and 
the  other  endured  without  sacrificing  the  honour  and  independence  of  the  coun 
try.  This  pacific  and  \vise_pojicv  was,  with  snme  slight  exceptions1  steadily 
pursucTjm-  "pinm  ihnnfifleen  years.  At  length  came  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
Decrees  on  the  part-|»$  France,  and  th^  hostile  orders  in  council  on  the  part  of 
England,  which  forced  *on  our  government  the  embargo  and  other  restrictive 
measures,  adopted  from  an  anxious  desire  of  preserving  geace,  and  in  the  hope 
of  obtaining  respect  for  our  4>ghts  from  one  or  other  of  th$  t«wo  belligerents. 
Experience  soon  proved  howtimpotent  these  measures  were,  and  how  fallacious 
was  our  hope.  The  encroachments  on  our  rights  and  independence  continued 
to  advance,  till  England  at  length  pushed  her  aggressions  so  far  that  our  com- 
jiu  roe  was  n-duced  to  a  state  of  dependance  as  complete  as  when  we  were  her 
colonies,  and  our  ships  were  converted,  at  the  same  time,  into  a  recruiting-ground 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  9 

to  man  her  navy.  Not  a  vessel  of  ours  was  permitted  to  reach  Europe  but 
through  her  ports,  and  more  than  3000  of  our  hardy  seamen  were  impressed 
into  her  service,  to  fight  battles  in  which  they  had  no  interest.  Our  independ 
ence,  as  far  as  the  ocean  was  concerned,  had  become  an  empty  name  ;  but  so 
hazardous  was  it  to  take  up  arms  in  the  unprepared  state  of  the  country,  and  to 
be  drawn  into  a  struggle  apparently  so  fearful  and  interminable  between  the  two 
first  powers  on  earth,  that  the  stoutest  and  boldest  might  well  have  paused  at 
taking  the  step. 

It  was  in  such  a  crisis  of  our  affairs  that  Mr.  Calhoun  took  his  seat  in  Con 
gress.  To  him  it  was  not  unexpected.  He  had  little  confidence  from  the  be 
ginning  in  the  peaceful  measures  resorted  to  for  the  redress  of  our  wrongs,  and 
saw  beforehand  that  the  final  alternatives  would  be  war  or  submission,  and  had 
deliberately  made  up  his  mind,  that  to  lose  independence,  and  to  sink  down  into 
a  state  of  acknowledged  inferiority,  depending  for  security  on  forbearance,  and 
rot  on  our  capacity  and  disposition  to  defend  ourselves,  would  be  the  worst 
calamity  which  could  befall  the  country.  According  to  his  9 pinion,  the  ability 
of  the  government  to  defend  the  country  against  external  danger,  and  to  cause 
its  rights  to  be  respected  from  without,  was  as  essential  as  protection  against 
violence  within,  and  that,  if  it  should  prove  incompetent  to  meet  successfully  the 
hazard  of  a  just  and  necessary  war,  it  would  fail  in  one  of  the  two  great  objects 
for  which  it  was  instituted,  and  that  the  sooner  it  was  known  the  better.  With 
these  fixed  opinions,  his  voice,  on  taking  bi«  s^at.,  wns  frr  *h*»  mn^t  fWigii^l 
course. 

^'he  President's  Message,  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  was,  in  its  general 
features,  warlike,  and  yet  there  were  expressions  of  an  ambiguous  character, 
which  led  many  to  doubt  what  course  of  policy  was  really  intended  by  the  ad 
ministration.  The  portion  which  related  to  our  affairs  with  other  powers  was 
referred  to  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations.  The  excitement  in  the  coun 
try  was  intense,  and  party  spirit  never  ran  higher.  All  eyes  were  turned  on 
the  proceedings  of  the  committee.  They  reported,  at  an  early  period  of  the 
session,  resolutions  strongly  recommending  immediate  and  extensive  prepara 
tions  to  defend  our  rights  and  redress  our  wrongs  by  an  appeal  to  arms.  The 
debate  was  opened  by  the  chairman,  Mr.  Porter,  and  he  was  followed  on  the 
same  side  by  Mr.  Grundy.  It  was  allotted  to  Mr.  Calhoun  to  follow  Mr.  Ran 
dolph,  who,  on  the  opposite  side,  succeeded  Mr.  Grundy  in  an  able  and  elo 
quent  speech.  The  discussion  from  the  beginning  excited  profound  interest, 
both  in  the  body  and  the  crowded  audience  daily  assembled  in  the  lobby  and 
galleries,  and  this  interest  had  increased  as  the  discussion  advanced.  It  was 
Mr.  Calhoun's  first  speech  in  Compress,  except  a  few  brief  remarks  on  the  Ap 
portionment  frill.  rlrh^  trial  was  a  severe  one ;  expectation  was  high.  The 
question  was  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  and  he  to  whom  he  had  to  reply,  a  vet 
eran  statesman  of  unsurpassed  eloquence.  How  he  acquitted  himself,  the  pa 
pers  of  the  day  wifl  besi  attest.  Tlie  remarks  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  then, 
as  now,  a  leading  journal  on  the  Republican  side,  may  be  taken  as  an  example. 
Mr.  Ritchie,  in  his  remarks  on  the  speeches,  after  characterizing  Mr.  Randolph's, 
said :  "  Mr.  Calhoun  is  clear  and  precise  in  his  reasoning,  marching  up  directly 
to  the  object  of  his  attack,  and  felling  down  the  errors  of  his  opponent  with  the 
club  of  Hercules  ;  not  eloquent  in  his  tropes  and  figures^  ftut,  like  Fox,  in  the 
moral  elevation  of  his  sentiments ;  free  from  personality,  yet  full  of  those  fine 
touches  of  indignation,  which  are  the  severest  cut  to  the  man  of  feeling.  His 
speech,  like  a  fine  drawing,  abounds  in  those  lights  and  shades  which  set  off 
each  other  :  the  cause  of  his  country  is  robed  in  light,  while  her  opponents  are 
wrapped  in  darkness.  It  were  a  contracted  wish  that  Mr.  Calhoun  were  a  Vir 
ginian  ;  though,  after  the  quota  she  has  furnished  with  opposition  talents,  such 
a  wish  might  be  forgiven  us.  We  beg  leave  to  participate,  as  Americans  and 
friends  of  our  country,  in  the  honours  of  South  Carolina.  We  hail  this  young 

B 


10  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

Carolinian  as  one  of  the  master-spirits  who  stamp  their  names  upon  the  age  in 
which  they  live." 

,,  When  Mr.  Calhoun  sat  down,  he  was  greeted  by  the  great  body  of  the 
party  for  his  successful  effort,  and  thenceforward  took  rank  with  the  ablest 
and  most  influential  members  of  the  body.  But,  as  clear  as  it  appeared  to  him 
that  the  period  had  arrived  when  a  resort  to  arms  could  no  longer  be  avoided 
without  sacrificing  the  honour  and  interest  of  the  country,  such  was  far  from 
being  the  feeling  of  many,  even  of  the  Republican  members  of  the  body.  Many, 
who°saw  the  necessity,  hesitated ;  some  from  the  great  hazard  of  war,  others 
from  the  want  of  preparation,  or  the  difficulty  of  selecting  between  the  belliger 
ents,  when  both  had  so  grossly  violated  our  rights  ;  and  not  a  few  from  a  linger 
ing  confidence  in  the  Non-importation  Act,  and  other  restrictive  measures,  as  the 
means  of  redressing  our  wrongs.  Mr.  Calhoun,  although  he  approved  of  the 
motive  which  had  led  to  a  resort  to  those  measures  in  the  first  instance,  and 
regarded  them  as  wise  temporary  expedients,  never  had  any  confidence  in 
them  as  instrumants  of  avenging  or  redressing  the  wrongs  of  the  country.  Be 
lieving  that  they  had  accomplished  all  they  ever  could,  and  that  a  latent  attach 
ment  to  them  was  one  of  the  principal  impediments  to  a  resort  to  arms,  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  attack  the  whole  system. 

To  realize  the  boldness  and  hazard  of  such  a  step,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 

4 hat  the  support  or  opposition  to  the  system  had  been  for  many  years  the  main 
est  of  party  fidelity,  and  that  party  spirit  was  never  higher  than  at  the  time. 
But  as  strongly  as  he  was  attached  to  the  administration,  to  the  Republican 
party,  and  their  general  policy,  and  opposed  as  he  was  to  the  Federalists,,  he 
did  not  hesitate,  young  as  he  was,  when  he  believed  duty  and  the  interest  of 
the  country  required  it,  to  place  himself  above  all  party  considerations,  and  to 
expose  manfully  the  defects  of  a  system  which  had  been  so  long  cherished  and 
defended  by  the  party  to  which  he  belonged.  The  following  extracts  from  a 
speech  delivered  against  it  will  give  in  his  own  language4  some  of  the  most 
prominent  objections  which  he  urged  against  the  system,  and  afford,  at  the 
same  time,  a  fair  specimen  of  his  powers  of  reasoning  and  eloquence  at  that 
early  period,  and  of  the  lofty  and  patriotic  sentiments  which  actuated  him  in  the 
line  of  policy  that  he  advocated. 

"  The  restrictive  system,"  he  said,  "  as  a  mode  of  resistance,  or  as  a  means 
of  obtaining  redress,  has  never  been  a  favourite  one  with  me.  I  wish  not  to 
censure  the  motives  which  dictated  it,  or  attribute  weakness  to  those  who  first 
resorted  to  it  for  a  restoration  of  our  rights.  But,  sir,  I  object  to  the  restrictive 
system  because  it  does  not  suit  the  genius  of  the  people,  or  that  of  our  govern 
ment,  or  the  geographical  character  of  our  country.  We  are  a  people  essen 
tially  active  ;  I  may  say  we  are  pre-eminently  so.  IS[o  passive  system  can 
suit  such  a  people  ;  in  action  superior  to  all  others,  in  patient  endurance  inferior 
to  none.  Nor  drts  ittswit  the  genius  of  our  government.  Our  government  is 
founded  on  freedom,  and*hates  coercion.  "To  make  the  restrictive  system  ef 
fective,  requires  the  most  arbitrary  laws.  England,  with  the  severest  penal 
statutes,  has  not  been  able  to  exclude  prohibited  articles ;  and  Napoleon,  with 
all  his  power  and  vigilance,  was  obliged  to  resort  to  the  most  barbarous  laws  to 
enforce  his  Continental  system." 

After  showing  h6*^  the  whole  mercantile  community  must  become  corrupt  by 
the  temptations  and  facilities  for  smuggling,  and  how  the  public  opinion  of  the 
commercial  community  (upon  which  the  system  must  depend  for  its  enforce 
ment)  becomes  opposed  to  it/,  and  gives  sanction  to  its  violation,  he  proceeds 

"  But  there  are  other  objections  to  the  system.  It  renders  government  odi 
ous.  The  (armer  inquires  why  he  gets  no  more  for  his  produce,  and  he  is  told 
it  is  owing  to  the  embargo,  or  commercial  restrictions.  In  this  he  sees  only 
the  hand  of  his  own  government,  and  not  the  acts  of  violence  and  injustice 
which  this  system  is  intended  to  counteract.  His  censures  fall  on  the  govern- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  11 

ment.  This  is  an  unhappy  state  of  the  public  mind ;  and  even,  I  might  say,  in 
a  government  resting  essentially  on  public  opinion,  a  dangerous  one.  In  war  - 
it  is  different.  Its  privation,  it  is  true,  may  be  equal  or  greater ;  but  the  public 
mind,  under  the  strong  impulses  of  that  state  of  things,  becomes  steeled  against 
sufferings.  The  difference  is  almost  infinite  between  the  passive  and  active 
state  of  the  mind.  Tie  down  a  hero,  and  he  feels  the  puncture  of  a  pin  :  throw 
him  into  battle,  and  he  is  almost  insensible  to  vital  gashes.  /  So  in  war.  Im 
pelled  alternately  by  hope  and  fear,  stimulated  by  revenge,  depressed  by  shame, 
or  elevated  by  victory,  the  people  become  invincible.  No  privation  can  shake 
their  fortitude  ;  no  calamity  break  their  spirit.  Even  when  equally  successful, 
the  contrast  between  the  two  systems  is  striking.  War  and  restriction  may 
leave  the  country  equally  exhausted  ;  but  the  latter  not  only  leaves  you  poor, 
but,  even  when  successful,  dispirited,  divided,  discontented,  with  diminished 
patriotism,  and  the  morals  of  a  considerable  portion  of  your  people  corrupted. 
Not  so  in  war.  In  that  state,  the  common  danger  unites  all,  strengthens  the 
bonds  of  society,  and  feeds  the  flame  of  patriotism.  The  national  character 
mounts  to  energy.  In  exchange  for  the  expenses  and  privations  of  war,  you 
obtain  military  and  naval  skill,  and  a  more  perfect  organization  of  such  parts  of 
your  administration  as  are  connected  with  the  science  of  national  defence.  Sir, 
are  these  advantages  to  be  counted  as  trifles  in  the  present  state  of  the  world  ? 
Can  they  be  measured  by  moneyed  valuation  ?  I  would  prefer  a  single  victory  \^ 
over  the  enemy,  by  sea  or  land,  to  all  the  good  we  shall  ever  derive  from  the-0  J 
continuation  of  the  Non-importation  Act'  I  know  not  that  a  victory  would  pro 
duce  an  equal  pressure  on  the  enemy ;  but  I  am  certain  of  what  is  of  greater 
consequence,  it  would  be  accompanied  by  more  salutary  effects  on  ourselves. 
The  memory  of  Saratoga,  Princeton,  and  Eutaw  is  immortal.  It  is  there  you 
will  find  the  country's  boast  and  pride — the  inexhaustible  source  of  great  and 
heroic  sentiments.  But  what  will  history  say  of  restriction  1  What  examples 
worthy  of  imitation  will  it  furnish  to  posterity  1  What  pride,  what  pleasure, 
will  our  children  find  in  the  events  of  such  times  ?  Let  me  not  be  considered 
romantic.  This  nation  ought  to  be  taught  to  rely  on  its  courage,  its  fortitude, 
its  skill  and  virtue,  for  protection.  These  are  the  only  safeguards  in  the  hour 
of  danger.  Man  was  endued  with  these  great  qualities  for  his  defence. 
There  is  nothing  about  him  that  indicates  that  he  is  to  conquer  by  endurance. 
He  is  not  incrusted  in  a  shell ;  he  is  not  taught  to  rely  upon  his  insensibility, 
his  passive  suffering,  for  defence.  No;  sir ;  it  is  on  the  invincible  mind,  on  a 
magnanimous  nature,  he  ought  to  rely.  Here  is  the  superiority  of  our  kind  ;  it 
is  these  that  render  man  the  lord  of  the  world.  It  is  the  destiny  of  his  condi 
tion  that  nations  rise  above  nations,  as  they  are  endued  in  a  greater  degree 
with  these  brilliant  qualities." 

But  this  is  not  the  only  instance  in  which  Mr.  Calhoun,  at  this  early  stage 
of  his  public  life,  manifested  a  spirit  above  party  influence  ^>r  control,  that 
spirit  which  he  has  so  often  since  exhibited,  when  duty  and  patriotism  demand 
ed  it.  No  one  appreciates  more  highly  the  value  of  party  ties  within  proper 
limits,  or  adheres  more  firmly  to  his  party  within  them,  than  he  does.  He  never 
permits  them  to  influence  him  beyond  those  necessary  limits.  Acting  accord 
ingly,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  give  his  cordial  and  warm  support  to  a  bill  for  the 
increase  of  the  navy,  reported  by  his  able  and  distinguished  colleague,  who 
was  then  chairman  of  the  Naval  Committee,  although,  at  and  previous  to  that 
time,  the  great  body  of  the  Republican  party  was  and  had  been  opposed  to  it. 
It  was  owing  to  the  decided  support  which  it  received  from  Mr.  Cheeves,  Mr. 
Calhoun,  Mr.  Lowndes,  and  Mr.  Clay,  and  its  brilliant  achievements  afterward 
(even  then  confidently  anticipated  by  them),  that  it  has  since  become  with  the 
whole  Union  the  favourite  arm  of  defence. 

As  prominent  as  was  the  situation  of  Mr.  Calhoun  at  the  commencement  of 
this  eventful  session,  as  the  second  on  the  most  important  committee,  it  became 


12  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

still  more  so  in  its  progress.  The  chairman,  Mr.  Porter,  withdrew  from  Con- 
,;,  1  Mr.  C.  found  himself  at  the  head  of  the  committee,  which,  in  addition 
to  its 'peculiar  duties,  was  charged,  by  a  vote  of  the  House,  with  a  large  portion 
of  those  properly  belonging  to  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs.  Few  indi 
viduals  with  so  little  parliamentary  experience  have  ever  been  placed  in  so  re 
sponsible  a  situation.  He  had  never  before  served  in  a  deliberative  body  except 
iur  two  short  sessions  in  the  Legislature  of  his  own  state,  making  together  but 
nine  weeks.  With  such  limited  experience,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  a  situ 
ation  of  the  kind  more  arduous  than  that  in  which  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
such  a  committee  at  such  a  period,  when  party  spirit  was  at  its  height  and  the 
opposition  under  the  guidance  of  leaders  distinguished  for  their  talents  and  ex 
perience  ;  and  yet,  so  ample  were  his  resources,  and  so  great  his  aptitude  for 
business,  that  he  riot  only  sustained  himself,  but  acquired  honour  and  distinc 
tion  for  the  ability  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  station. 

It  will  not  be  attempted  to  trace  Mr.  Calhoun's  course  through  this  laborious 
and  long-to-be-remembered  session.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  he  exhibited 
throughout  the  same  zeal  and  ability  with  which  he  commenced  it.  Near  its 
close°he  reported  and  carrjejJ  through  the  bill  j^ejjlaring  war  against  Great 
Britain— a  war  under  all  circumstances  fairly  entitled  to  its  appellation  as  the 
second  war  of  independence.  The  proceedings  were  in  secret  session,  con 
trary  to  his  opinion  and  wishes. 

^Such  was  the  brilliant  career  of  Mr.  Calhoun  during  his  first  session,  and 
that  under  the  most  responsible  and  trying  circumstances.  Much  of  his  suc 
cess  is  to  be  attributed  to  his  early  and  wise  determination  not  to  come  forward 
till  he  had  laid  the  foundation  in  a  solid  education,  and  fuJly  prepared  himself 
to  act  his  part  in  life.  Without  them,  the  mere  force  of  natural  talents  could 
not  have  carried  him  successfully  through  the  difficulties  he  had  to  encounter 
at  the  outset  of  his  congressional  career. 

The  declaration  of  war  fixed  the  policy  of  the  government  for  the  time,  and 
the  discussions  in  Congress  during  its  continuance  turned,  for  the  most  part,  on 
questions  relating  to  the  finances,  the  army,-  the  navy,  the  mode  of  conducting 
the  war,  and  its  success  and  disasters.  These  gave  rise  to  many  warm  and 
animated  debates  of  deep  interest  and  excitement  at  the  time,  and  in  most  of 
which  Mr.  Calhoun  took  a  prominent  part,  and  fully  sustained  the  reputation  he 
had  acquired  for  ability  and  eloquence  ;  but  as  the  subjects  were  generally  of  a 
temporary  character,  and  have  long  since  lost  much  of  their  interest,  the  object 
of  this  sketch  does  not  require  that  they  should  be  particularly  noticed.  They 
will,  accordingly,  be  passed  in  silence,  and  the  notice  of  the  events  of  the  pe 
riod  confined  to  those  that  may  be  regarded  as  exceptions  to  the  ordinary  party 
discussions  of  the  day.  This  course  is  the  more  readily  adopted,  because  it  is 
lirlicvod  that  the  whole  country  is  disposed  to  do  ample  justice  to  the  patriot 
ism,  the  intelligence,  end  ability  with  which  he  performed  his  part  during  this 
even!  iul  period  of  our  history. 

The  first  incident  that  will  be  noticed  took  place  at  the  commencement  of 
the  session  immediately  succeeding  the  declaration  of  war.  South  Carolina 
had  in  that  Congress  an  unusual  number  of  men  of  talents  :  General  D.  R.  Wil 
liams,  Langdon  Cheves,  William  Lowudos,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  all 
of  whom  were  entitled  to  prominent  positions  in  the  arrangement  of  commit 
tees.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  the  youngest.  The  speaker  was  embarrassed.  There 
was  a  difficulty  in  placing  so  many  from  ono  state,  and  that  a  small  one,  at  tho 
head  of  prominent  committees,  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  with  his  characteristic  disin 
terestedness,  cheerfully  assented  to  be  placed  second  on  that  at  the  head  of 
whirh  he  had  served  with  so  much  distinction  at  the  preceding  session.  Mr. 
Sniilie,  an  old  and  highly-respectable  mnn!>rr  from  Pennsylvania,  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  committee.  At  its  first  meeting  the  chairman,  without  pre- 
'viously  intimating  his  intention,  moved  that  Mr.  Calhoun  should  be  elected 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  13 

chairman.  He  objected,  and  insisted  that  Mr.  Smilie  should  act  as  chairman, 
and  declared  his  perfect  willingness  to  serve  under  him  ;  but  he  was,  notwith 
standing,  unanimously  elected,  and  the  strongest  proof  that  could  be  given  of  the 
highly  satisfactory  manner  in  which  he  had  previously  discharged  his  duty  was 
thus  afforded.  In  this  conviction,  and  as  illustrative  of  the  same  disinterested 
character,  when  the  speaker's  chair  became  vacant  by  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Clay  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate  for  peace,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  so 
licited  by  many  of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  party  to  become  a  can 
didate  for  it;  but  he  peremptorily  refused  to  oppose  his  distinguished  colleague, 
Mr.  Cheves,  who  was  elected. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  same  session,  a  question  out  of  the  ordinary  course, 
and  which  excited  much  interest  at  the  time,  became  the  subject  of  discussion, 
that  of  the  merchants'  bonds.  The  Non-importation  Act  (one  of  the  restrictive 
measures)  was  in  force  when  war  was  declared.  Under  its  operation  a  large 
amount  of  capital  had  been  accumulated  abroad,  and  especially  in  England,  the 
proceeds  of  exports  that  could  not  be  returned  in  consequence  of  the  prohibition 
of  imports.  The  owners,  when  they  saw  war  was  inevitable,  became  alarmed, 
and  gave  orders  for  the  return  of  their  property.  It  came  back,  for  the  most 
part,  in  merchandise,  which  was  subject  to  forfeiture  under  the  act.  The  own 
ers  petitioned  for  the  remission  of  the  forfeiture,  and  permission  to  enter  the 
goods  on  paying  the  war  duties.  The  secretary  of  the  treasury,  on  the  other 
hand,  proposed  to  remit  the  forfeiture  on  condition  that  the  amount  of  the  value 
of  the  goods  should  be  loaned  to  the  government  by  the  owners.  Mr.  Cheves, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  reported  in  favour  of 
the  petition,  and  supported  his  report  by  an  able  speech.  The  question  had 
assumed  much  of  a  party  character,  but  it  did  not  deter  Mr.  Calhoun  from  an 
independent  exercise  of  his  judgment.  He  believed  that  the  act  never  con 
templated  a  case  of  the  kind,  and  that  to  enforce,  under  such  circumstances,  a 
forfeiture  amounting  to  millions,  which  would  embrace  a  large  class  of  citizens, 
would  be  against  the  spirit  of  the  criminal  code  of  a  free  and  enlightened  peo 
ple.  But  waving  these  more  general  views,  he  thought  the  only  alternative 
was  to  remit  the  forfeiture,  as  prayed  for  by  the  owners,  or  to  enforce  it  accord 
ing  to  the  provisions  of  the  act :  that,  if  the  importation  was  such  a  violation 
as  justly  and  properly  incurred  the  forfeiture,  then  the  act  ought  to  be  enforced  ; 
but  if  not,  the  forfeiture  ought  to  be  remitted ;  and  that  the  government  had  no 
right,  and  if  it  had,  it  was  unbecoming  its  dignity  to  convert  a  penal  act  into 
the  means  of  making  a  forced  loan.  Thus  thinking,  he  seconded  the  effort 
of  his  distinguished  colleague,  and  enforced  his  views  in  a  very  able  speech. 
The  result  was,  that  the  forfeiture  was  remitted,  and  the  goods  admitted  on 
paying  duties  in  conformity  to  the  course  recommended  by  the  committee. 

There  was  another  case  in  which,  at  this  period,  he  evinced  his  firmness  and 
independence.  The  administration  still  adhered  to  the  restrictive  policy,  and 
even  after  the  war  was  declared  the  President  recommended  the  renewal  of 
the  Embargo.  Mr.  Calhoun.  as  has  been  shown,  opposed,  on  principle.  fthe 
whole  system  as  a  substitute  for  war,  and  he  was  stilljnore^oppnsp.d  to  it  nt  nrr 
auxihary  to  it.  He  held  it,  in  that  light, .not  only  as  inefficient  and  delusive, 
But  as  Calculated  to  impair  the  means  of  the  country, "and  to  divert  a  greater 
share  of  its  capital  and  industry  to  manufactures  than  could  be,  on  the  return 
of  peace,  sustained  by  the  government  on  any  sound  principles  of  justice  or 
policy.  He  thought  war  itself,  without  restrictions,  would  give  so  great  a  stim 
ulus,  that  no  small  embarrassment  and  loss  would  result  on  its  termination,  in 
despite  of  all  that  could  be  done  for  them,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  expressed 
his  willingness,  when  peace  came,  to  protect  the  establishments  that  might 
grow  up  during  its  continuance,  as  far  as  it  could  be  fairly  done. 

The  Embargo  failed  on  the  first  recommendation  ;  but,  at  the  next  session, 
oeing  recommended  again,  it  succeeded.  Mr.  Calhoun,  at  the  earnest  entreaties 


14  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

of  friends,  and  to  prevent  division  in  the  party  when  their  union  was  so  neces 
sary  to  the  success  of  the  war,  gave  it  a  reluctant  vote. 

But  the  time  was  approaching  when  an  opportunity  would  be  afforded  him 
to  carry  out  successfully  his  views  in  reference  to  the  restrictive  system,  and 
that  with  the  concurrence  of  the  party.  The  disasters  of  Bonaparte  in  the  Rus 
sian  campaign,  his  consequent  fall  and  dethronement  in  the  early  part  of  1814, 
and  the  triumph  of  Great  Britain,  after  one  of  the  longest,  and,  altogether,  the 
ni(»t  remarkable  contests  on  record,  offered  that  opportunity,  which  he  promptly 
seized.  This  great  event,  which  terminated  the  war  in  Europe,  left  Great  Brit 
ain,  flushed  with  victory,  in  full  possession  of  all  the  vast  resources,  in  men, 
money,  and  materials,  by  which  she  had  brought  that  mighty  conflict  to  a  suc 
cessful  termination,  to  be  turned  against  us.  It  was  a  fearful  state  of  things ; 
but,  as  fearful  as  it  was  of  itself,  it  was  made  doubly  so  by  the  internal  condi 
tion  of  the  country,  and  the  course  of  the  opposition.  Blinded  by  party  zeal, 
they  beheld  with  joy  or  indifference  what  was  calculated  to  appal  the  patriotic. 
Forgetting  the  country,  and  intent  only  on  a  party  triumph,  they  seized  the  op 
portunity  to  embarrass  the  government.  Their  great  effort  was  made  against 
the  Loan  Bill — a  measure  necessary  to  carry  on  the  war.  Instead  of  support 
ing  it,  they  denounced  the  war  itself  as  unjust  and  inexpedient ;  and  they  pro 
claimed  its  farther  prosecution,  in  so  unequal  a  contest,  as  hopeless,  now  that 
the  whole  power  of  the  British  Empire  would  be  brought  to  bear  against  us. 
Mr.  Calhoun  replied  in  a  manner  highly  characteristic  of  the  man.  undaun|:edT 
able,  and  eloquent!  None  can  read  this  speech,  even  at  this  distance  of  time, 
without  kindling  under  that  elevated  tone  of  feeling,  which  wisdom,  emanating 
from  a  spirit  lofty  and  self-possessed  under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  only 
can  inspire.  In  order  to  show  the  justice  and  expediency  of  the  war,  he  took 
an  historical  view  of  the  maritime  usurpations  of  Great  Britain,  from  the  cele 
brated  order  in  council  of  1756,  to  the  time  of  the  discussion,  and  demon 
strated  that  her  aggressions  were  not  accidental,  or  dependant  on  peculiar  cir 
cumstances,  but  were  the  result  of  a  fixed  system  of  policy,  intended  to  estab 
lish  her  supremacy  on  the  ocean.  After  giving  a  luminous  view  of  the  origin 
and  character  of  the  wrongs  we  had  suffered  from  her,  he  clearly  showed  the 
flimsiness  of  the  pretext  by  which  she  sought  to  justify  her  conduct,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  opposition  to  excuse  her,  and  dwelt  upon  the  folly  of  hoping  to  ob 
tain  redress  by  sheathing  the  sword  or  throwing  ourselves  on  her  justice.  The 
following  extract,  taken  from  the  conclusion,  will  afford  an  example  of  his  lofty 
and  animating  eloquence : 

"  This  country  is  left  alone  to  support  the  rights  of  neutrals.  Perilous  is  the 
condition,  and  arduous  the  task.  We  are  not  intimidated.  We  stand  opposed 
to  British  usurpation,  and,  by  our  spirit  and  efforts,  have  done  all  in  our  power 
to  save  the  last  vestiges  of  neutral  rights.  Yes,  our  embargoes,  non-inter 
course,  non-importation,  and,  finally,  war,  are  all  manly  exertions  to  preserve 
the  rights  of  this  and  other  nations  from  the  deadly  grasp  of  British  mari 
time  policy.  But  (say  our  opponents)  these  efforts  are  lost,  and  our  condi 
tion  hopeless.  If  so,  it  only  remains  for  us  to  assume  the  garb  of  our  condition. 
We  jnust  submit,  humbly  submit,  crave  pardon,  and  hug  our  chains.  It  is  not 
wise  to  provoke  where  we  cannot  resist.  But  first  let  us  be  well  assured  of  the 
hopelessness  of  our  state  before  we  sink  into  submission.  On  what  do  our  op 
ponents  rest  their  despondent  and  slavish  belief?  On  the  recent  events  in  Eu 
rope  ?  I  admit  they  are  great,  and  well  calculated  to  impose  on  the  imagina 
tion.  Our  enemy  never  presented  a  more  imposing  exterior.  His  fortune  is  at 
the  flood.  But  I  am  admonished  by  universal  experience,  that  such  prosperity 
is  the  most  precarious  of  human  conditions.  From  the  flood  the  tide  dates  its 
From  the  meridian  the  sun  commences  his  decline.  Depend  upon  it, 
there  is  more  of  sound  philosophy  than  of  fiction  in  the  fickleness  which  poets 
attribute  to  fortune.  Prosperity  has  its  weakness,  adversity  its  strength.  In 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  15 

many  respects  our  enemy  has  lost  by  those  very  changes  which  seem  so  very 
much  in  his  favour.  He  can  no  more  claim  to  be  struggling  for  existence  ;  no  more 
to  be  fighting  the  battles  of  the  world  in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  mankind. 
The  magic  cry  of  '  French  influence'  is  lost.  In  this  very  hall  we  are  not 
strangers  to  that  sound.  Here,  even  here,  the  cry  of  *  French  influence,'  that 
baseless  fiction,  that  phantom  of  faction  no\v  banished,  often  resounded.  I  re 
joice  that  the  spell  is  broken  by  which  it  was  attempted  to  bind  the  spirit  of 
this  youthful  nation.  The  minority  can  no  longer  act  under  cover,  but  must 
come  out  and  defend  their  opposition  on  its  own  intrinsic  merits.  Our  example 
can  scarcely  fail  to  produce  its  effects  on  other  nations  interested  in  the  main 
tenance  of  maritime  rights.  But  if,  unfortunately,  we  should  be  left  alone  to 
maintain  the  contest,  and  if,  which  may  God  forbid,  necessity  should  compel 
us  to  yield  for  the  present,  yet  our  generous  efforts  will  not  have  been  lost.  A 
mode  of  thinking  and  a  tone  of  sentiment  have  gone  abroad  which  must  stimu 
late  to  future  and  more  successful  struggles.  What  could  not  be  effected  with 
eight  millions  of  people  will  be  done  with  twenty.  The  great  cause  will  never 
be  yielded — no,  never,  never !  Sir,  I  hear  the  future  audibly  announced  in  the 
past — in  the  splendid  victories  over  the  Guerriere,  Java,  and  Macedonian.  We, 
and  all  nations,  by  these  victories,  are  taught  a  lesson  never  to  be  forgotten. 
Opinion  is  power.  The  charm  of  British  naval  invincibility  is  gone." 

Such  was  the  animated  strain  by  which  Mr.  Calhoun  rouse/ 
government  and  C'UimUy  Under  a  complication  of  adverse  circumstances  cal 
culated  to  overwhelm  the  feeble  and  appal  the  stoutest.  Never  faltering,  never 
doubting,  never  despairing  of  the  Republic,  he  jyas  at  once  the  hope  of  the  party 
and  the  beacon  light  to  the  country. 

But  he  did  not  limit  liis  elftttts  to  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  opposition,  and 
animating  the  hopes  of  the  government  and  country.  He  saw  that  the  very 
events  which  exposed  us  to  so  much  danger,  made  a  mighty  change  in  the  po 
litical  and  commercial  relations  of  Continental  Europe,  which  had  been  so  long 
closed  against  foreign  commerce,  in  consequence  of  the  long  war  that  grew  out 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and  of  those  hostile  orders  and  decrees  of  the  two 
great  belligerents,  which  had  for  many  years  almost  annihilated  all  lawful  com 
merce  between  the  Continent  of  Europe  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  events 
that  dethroned  Bonaparte  put  an  end  to  that  state  of  things,  and  left  all  the  pow 
ers  of  Europe  free  to  resume  their  former  commercial  pursuits.  He  saw  in  all 
this  that  the  time  had  come  to  free  the  government  entirely  from  the  shackles  of 
the  restrictive  system,  to  which  he  had  been  so  long  opposed  ;  and  he,  according 
ly,  followed  up  his  speech  by  a  bill  to  repeal  the  Embargo  and  the  Non-importa 
tion  Act.  He  rested  their  repeal  on  the  ground  that  they  were  a  portion  of  the 
restrictive  policy,  and  showed  that  the  ground  on  which  it  had  been  heretofore 
sustained  was,  that  it  was  a  pacific  policy,  growing  out  of  the  extraordinary 
state  of  the  world  at  the  time  i§  was  adopted,  and,  of  course,  dependant  on  the 
continuance  of  that  state.  "  It  was  a  time,"  he  said,  "  when  every  power  on 
the  Continent  was  arrayed  against  Great  Britain,  under  the  overwhelming  influ  • 
ence  of  Bonaparte,  and  no  country  but  ours  interested  in  maintaining  neutral 
rights.  The  fact  of  all  the  Continental  ports  being  closed  against  her,  gave  to 
our  restrictive  measures  an  efficacy  which  they  no  longer  had,  now  that  they 
were  open  to  her."  He  admitted  that  the  system  had  been  continued  too  long, 
and  been  too  far  extended,  and  that  he  was  opposed  to  it  as  a  substitute  for 
war,  but  contended  that  there  would  be  no  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  the 
government  in  abandoning  a  policy  founded  on  a  state  of  things  which  no 
longer  existed.  "  But  now,"  said  he,  "  the  Continental  powers  are  neutrals,  as 
between  us  and  Great  Britain.  We  are  contending  for  the  freedom  of  trade, 
and  ought  to  use  every  exertion  to  attach  to  our  cause  Russia,  Sweden,  Hol 
land,  Denmark,  and  all  other  nations  which  have  an  interest  in  the  freedom  of 
the  seas.  The  maritime  rights  assumed  by  Great  Britain  infringe  on  the 


IB  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

rights  of  all  neutral  powers,  and  if  we  should  now  open  our  ports  and  trade  to 
the  nations  of  the  Continent,  it  would  involve  Great  Britain  in  a  very  awkward 
and  perplexing  dilemma.  She  must  either  permit  us  to  enjoy  a  very  lucrative 
commerce  with  them,  or,  by  attempting  to  exclude  them  from  our  ports  by  her 
system  of  paper  blockades,  she  would  force  them  to  espouse  our  cause.  The 
option  which  would  thus  be  tendered  her  would  so  embarrass  her  as  to  produce 
a  stronger  desire  for  peace  than  ten  years'  continuance  of  the  present  system, 
inoperative  as  it  is  now  rendered  by  a  change  of  circumstances."  These  views 
had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  bill  passed. 

The  subsequent  session  (that  of  1814-15)  was  the  last  of  the  war  sessions. 
It  was  short,  terminating  on  the  4th  of  March.  It  was  one  of  much  excite- 
\{  ment,  but  was  principally  distinguished  for  the  project  of  a  bank,  submitted  by 
the  administration,  and  intended  for  the  relief  of  the  financial  difficulties  of  the 
government.  Upon  this  measure  Mr.  Calhoun  differed  from  the  administration, 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  party. 

It  so  happened  that  he  was  detained  at  home  by  sickness,  and  did  not  take 
his  seat  for  several  weeks  after  the  commencement  of  the  session,  and  his  place 
as  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations  was  filled  by  the  late  secre 
tary  of  state,  Mr.  Forsyth.  He  found,  on  his  arrival,  the  plan  of  a  bank  agreed 
on,  and  he  was  especially  requested  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  with  whom 
he  had  the  kindest  relations,  and  several  members  of  the  Committee  of  Ways 
and  Means,  to  give  it  his  particular  attention,  which  he  promised  to  do.  His 
/  predisposition  was  strongly  in  favour  of  a  bank  of  some  kind.  It  was  then 
generally  thought  to  be  indispensable  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  With  this 
disposition,  and  a  strong  desire  to  meet  what  were  the  views  of  the  secretary 
and  the  administration,  and  of  his  friends  on  the  Ways  and  Means',  he  took  up 
^  the  plan  for  examination.  The  whole  subject  of  banking,  theoretically  and 
practically,  was,  in  a  great  measure,  new  to  him.  He  had  never  given  it  a 
serious  and  careful  examination,  and  his  mind,  though  favourably  disposed  to 
the  plan,  was  open  to  the  reception  of  truth. 

The  leading  features  of  the  plan  were  a  bank  of  $50,000,000  of  capital,  to 
consist,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  millions  of  specie,  entirely  of  the  stock  is 
sued  by  the  government  for  loans  made  to  carry  on  the  war.  It  was  not  to  pay 
specie  during  the  war,  nor  till  three  years  after  its  termination,  and  was  to  lend 
the  government,  whenever  required,  $30,000,000,  at  six  per  cent.,  to  carry  on 
the  war.  With  all  his  prepossessionsjn  its  favour,  he  was  snnn.  strnnk  by  thf> 
fact,  that  the  grea£Ieadmg..Qb|iect  wasln  rrP.,itP.  a.  f^ETn*  for  tending  mnnP.v. 
JOt  On  the  means  Or  credit  of  the  bank,  or  tn»  individuals  tn  h*  incorporated, 

but  oj^the  government  itself;  for  the  bankjvonlrl  pnt  hp.  hnnpd  to  pay  its  potp.s. 

an^  WOUia  nave  little  Or  '  riotflih  fl  nn  xyjn'pb  trj  jpnfl   hntt  |hp.   Rt.nr\$   f)f  ffrn  gnvprn- 

lUSnt.  The  whole  contrivance  was,  virtually,  under  the  specious  show  of  a 
loan,  for  the  government  to  borrow  back  its  f  wn  credit  at  six  per  cent.,  for 
which  it  had  already  stipulated  to  pay  a  high  interest— not  less,  on  an  average, 
than  eight  per  cent.  Those  who  had  lent  the  government,  alleging  that  they 
had  loaned  all  they  had,  modestly  proposed  to  lend  it,  on  its  own  credit,  as 
much  as  it  might  need  to  carry  on  the  war,  if  it  would  incorporate  them  under 
the  magic  name  of  "  a  bank,"  exempt  them  from  the  payment  of  their  debts  as 
a  corporation,  give  them  the  use  of  the  public  money,  and  not  only  endorse 
their  notes  by  receiving  them  for  its  dues,  but  also  pay  them  away  as  money  in 
their  disbursements. 

It  was  impossible  for  a  mind  constituted  as  Mr.  Calhoun's  not  to  see  the 
whole  effects  of  the  scheme,  or  to  give  its  assent  to  it,  by  whomsoever  contri 
ved,  or  by  whatever  name  called.  To  him,  no  alternative  was  left  but  to  sac 
rifice  his  judgment,  or  to  differ  from  the  administration  and  many  of  his  friends 
who  were  anxious  to  have  his  support ;  but,  as  responsible  and  painful  as  was 
the  alternative,  he  did  not  hesitate. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  17 

When  the  bill  came  up  he  opposed  it  in  a  speech,  in  which  he  briefly  stated 
his  objections  ;  and  sllch  was  its  effect  that,  though  the  measure  had  the  support 
of  the  administration,  and  the  whole  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means 
but  one,  it  was  struck  out,  and  the  ^ynftmlmpnt.  hp  proposed  was  substituted  by  \ 
an  over\\dielminff  majority.  His  substitute  was,  that  the  government  Should  I 
use  its  own  credit  directly  in  the  shape  of  treasury  notes,  to  be  issued  to  mj^et  * 
to  wants,  and  to  be  funded  in  the  bank  in  the  form  of  stock  at  six  per  cent.  ; 
that  the  bank  should  be  bound  to  pay  its  notes  at  all  times,  and  should  make 
the  government  no  loans  but  short  ones,  in  anticipation  of  its  current  revenue. 
By  the  issue  of  treasury  notes,  to  be  funded  in  the  bank,  he  proposed  tofobtain 
the  immediate  supplies  to  carry  on  the  government ;  and,  by  establishing  a 
specie-paying  bank,  under  proper  restrictions,  he  hoped  to  sustain  a  strong  po 
sition,  from  which  the  currency,  then  consisting,  south  of  New-England,  exclu 
sively  of  the  notes  of  suspended  banks,  might  be  restored  to  the  specie  standard 
on  the  return  of  peace.  His  substitute  was,  in  its  turn,  defeated.  Two  other 
bills,  differently  modified,  were  successively  introduced,  and  were  both  defeat 
ed — one  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  speaker,  Mr.  Cheeves,  and  the  other  by  the 
President,  who  vetoed  it  on  the  ground  that,  as  modified,  it  would  not  afford  the 
relief  required  by  the  treasury. 

The  greater  part  of  the  session  had  been  spent  in  these  various  attempts 
to  pass  a  bill,  and  many  who  entirely  agreed  with  Mr.  Calhoun  in  his  view 
of  the  subject,  and  had  stood  fast  by  him  at  first,  now  yielded  tt  the 
pressure.  Finally,  a  rally  was  made,  a  short  time  Wforl?  th«  cUse  frf  the 
session,  to  pass  a  bill,  and  it  was  again  introduced  in  the  Senate  much  im 
proved  in  some  of  its  objectionable  features,  but  still  defective  enough  to 
prevent  him  and  the  friends  who  stood  by  him  from  giving  it  their  sup 
port.  It  speedily  passed  that  body,  and  was  sent  to  the  House,  where  it^ 
was  pressed  through  to  its  passage  with  all  possible  despatch.  On  the 
question  of  ordering  it  to  the  third  reading,  Mr.  Calhoun  made  a  few  re 
marks,  in  which  he  warned  the  House  against  adopting  a  measure  winch 
a  great  majority  decidedly  disapproved,  but  for  which  they  were  prepared 
to  vote  under  a  supposed  necessity,  which  did  not  exist.  He  concluded 
by  saying  that  the  bill  was  so  objectionable  that,  were  it  not  for  the  sup 
posed  necessity,  if,  for  instance,  the  news  of  peace  should  arrive  before  its 
passage,  it  would  not  receive  fifteen  votes,  and  concluded  by  saying  that 
he  would  reserve  a  full  statement  of  his  objections  to  the  bill  for  the  ques 
tion  on  the  passage  to  be  taken  the  next  day,  when  he  intended  to  make 
a  final  stand  against  it,  and  appeal  to  the  public  for  the  vindication  of  his 
course.  At  the  time  there  was  not  the  slightest  rumour  or  indication  of 
peace,  and  no  one  expected  it.  On  the  contrary,  every  indication  was, 
that  the  war  would  be  pushed  with  vigour  in  the  approaching  campaign. 
The  attack  had  been  made  on  New-Orleans,  and  by  every  mail  it  was  ex 
pected  to  hear  of  its  fate  ;  and  yet,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  that  very  day, 
subsequent  to  the  adjournment  of  the  House,  a  despatch,  sent  on  by  a  mer 
cantile  house  in  New-York,  to  be  forwarded  by  the  mail  to  the  South  to 
its  agents,  arrived  in  the  city,  with  the  intelligence  that  a  vessel  had  come 
in  after  the  departure  of  the  mail,  bringing  the  treaty  of  peace.  The 
member  to  whom  it  was  sent  was  so  struck  with  the  coincidence,  that  he 
informed  Mjr.  Calhoun  of  the  fact  in  confidence.  By  some  means,  a  rumour 
got  out  that  there  was  a  late  arrival  at  New- York  bringing  important  in 
telligence.  Next  day  the  friends  of  the  bill  made  an  effort  to  push  it 
through  before  the  arrival  of  the  mail  in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Calhoun 
moved  to  lay  the  bill  on  the  table,  saying  that  there  was  a  hope  that  the 
mail  from  New-York,  which  would  arrive  in  a  few  hours,  might  bring  in 
telligence  that  would  have  an  important  bearing  on  the  bill.  The  vote  on 
his  motion  verified  his  prediction.  The  mail  arrived  with  the  treaty  of 

C 


18  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

peace.  It  was  then  proposed  to  him  to  modify  the  bill  in  conformity 
with  his  views,  if  he  would  withdraw  hfs  opposition.  He  refused,  and 
demanded  other  and  severer  restrictions  than  those  which  he  had  hereto 
fore  proposed.  An  attempt  was  then,  made  to  take  up  the  bill  and  pass  it, 
which  failed  by  :i  large  majority. 

^  It  was  thus  his  sagacity  and  firmness,  under  the  most  trying-  circunj- 
stances,  against  the  whole  weight  of  the  administration,  defeated  a  meas 
ure,  which,  if  it  had  been  adopted  as  first  proposed,  would  have  been  fol 
lowed  by  consequences  more  disastrous  than  could  well  be  anticipated. 
Hc^iiul  the  satisfaction  to  receive  the  thanks  of  many  of  the  members  for 
its  defeat,  who  but  a  short  time  before  were  ready  to  denounce  him  for 
his  resistance  to  it.  It  is  now  to  be  regretted  that  none  of  Mr.  Calhoun's 
speeches  against  the  measure  were  published.  He  declined  publishing  at 
the  time  on  the  ground  that  his  object  was  to  defeat  the  bill,  but  to  do  so 
without  distracting  the  party  or  impairing  confidence  in  the  administra 
tion,  on  which  the  success  of  the  war  so  much  depended.  For  that  rea 
son,  he  not  only  avoided  publishing,  but  bore  patiently  the  denunciations 
daily  levelled  against  him  for  his  opposition  to  the  bill.  On  all  other 
measures  of  the  session  he  gave  the  administration  an  active  and  hearty 
support.  It  was,  indeed,  a  rule  with  him,  when  compelled  to  differ  from 
his  party  on  an  important  measure,  to  limit  his  opposition  strictly  to  the 
measure  itself,  and  to  avoid,  both  in  manner  and  matter,  all  that  could  by 
possibility  giytfotfftBce.  By  a  rigid  observance,  too,  of  this  rule,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  maintaining  his  individual  opinion  in  reference  to  all  important 
questions  on  which  he  differed  from  his  party  without  weakening  his 
standing  with  them. 

The  transition  from  a  state  of  war  to  that  of  peace  gave  rise  to  many, 
important  questions  the  most  prominent  of  which  grew  out  of  the  finances 
and  the  currency.  At  tne  succeeding  session,  Mr?  Lowndes  and  Mr.TJal- 
lioun  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the  committees  which  had  charge  of  these 
important  subjects;  Mr.  Lowndes  was  made  chairman  of  the  Ways  and 
Means,  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  from  the  prominence  he  had  acquired  at  the  pre 
ceding  session  on  the  Bank  Question,  was  appointed  chairman  of  that  on 
currency.  The  most  prominent  question  connected  with  the  finances  was 
that  of  the  readjustment  of  the  duties  on  the  imposts.  The  duties  had  been 
doubled  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  and  the  question  now  presented 
was,  how  much  they  should  be  reduced.  It  was  one  that  took  in  the  whole 
range  of  the  future  policy  of  the  government,  and  involved  the  considera 
tion  of  many  important  subjects  ;  the  military  and  naval  establishments, 
the  debt,  and  the  new  direction  given  to  a  large  amount  of  the  capital  and 
industry  of  the  country  in  consequence  of  the  war,  the  Embargo,  the  Non 
importation,  and  Non-intercourse  Acts,  which  preceded  it.  These,  in  turn, 
involved  the  question  of  our  foreign  relations  in  all  their  bearings.  After 
a  survey  of  the  whole  ground,  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  reported 
the  bill,  with  the  full  concurrence  of  the  administration,  which  passed 
with  but  few  changes,  and  has  since  been  called  the  Tariff  of  1816. 

Few  measures  have  been  less  understood  or  more  misrepresented.  It 
has  been  the  general  impression  that  the  duties  were  adjusted  by  the  bill 
mainly  in  reference  to  the  protection  of  manufactures.  Such  is  far  from 
being  the  fact.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  items,  such  as  the  minimum 
duty  on  coarse  cottons,  the  duties  on  rolled  iron,  and,  perhaps,  one  or  two 
more,  the  duties  would  have  been  arranged  substantially  as  they  were  if 
there  had  not  been  a  manufacturing  establishment  in  the  whole  country. 
It  was  in  other  respects  a  revenue  bill,  proposed  and  reported  by  the 
committee  to  whom  the  subject  of  revenue  properly  belonged,  and  regu 
lated  in  its  details,  with  the  few  exceptions  referred  to,  byCrevenue  con 
siderations. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  19 

The  first  great  question  in  the  adjusting  of  the  duties  was,  what  amount 
of  revenue  would  the  future  policy  of  the  country  require  1  And,  in  de 
ciding  that,  the  leading  question  was,  whether  the  public  debt  should  be 
rapidly  or  slowly  paid  1  In  this  decision  were  involved,  not  only  the  ques 
tion  of  the  policy  of  freeing  the  government  as  soon  as  possible  from  debt,  k 
but  also  the  collateral  effects  of  such  a  process  on  the  country  under  the 
particular  circumstances  of  the  case.  In  that  view,  the  effects  which 
raising  the  duties,  with  a  view  to  the  speedy  discharge  of  the  debt,  would 
have  in  sustaining  the  manufacturing  establishments  which  had  grown  up  ' 
under  the  war,  and  the  restrictive  system  preceding  it,  served  to  create  a 
strong  motive  for  adopting  that  policy,  and  for  fixing  the  duties  as  high 
as  they  stand  in  the  act.  In  conformity  with  this  policy,  an  efficient  sink 
ing  fund  of  $10,000,000  annually  was  provided  for  the  payment  of  the 
principal  and  interest  of  the  debt,  with  the  proviso  that  all  moneys  re 
maining  in  the  treasury  at  the  end  of  each  year  exceeding  $2,000,000 
should  be  carried  to  its  aid.  It  was  in  reference  to  these  views,  and  the 
necessity  of  providing  for  the  military  and  naval  establishments  on  a  scale 
sufficiently  extended  for  the  public  service,  that  the  details  of  the  bill  and 
the  rates  of  the  duties  were  mainly  adjusted,  and  not  solely  or  principally 
for  the  protection  of  manufactures,  as  has  been  erroneously  supposed.  If 
proof  is  required,  conclusive  evidence  will  be  found  in  the  bill  itself,  which 
imposes  a  much  lower  average  rate  of  duties  on  wJiatare  n#ow  called  the 
protected  articles,  that  is,  articles  similar  to  those  made  at  home,  or  which 
may  come  into  competition  with  them,  than  upon  the  other  descriptions. 

Nor  has  the  course  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  reference  to  it  been  less  misun 
derstood  or  misrepresented  than  the  measure  itself.     He  has  frequently 
been  called  the  author  of  the  protective  system.     Nothing  is  more  untrue. 
He  was  not  on  the  committee,  and  took  nopart  in  the  discussion,  except 
to  make  a  short  ofF-hand  speech  at  the  request  of  a  friend,  at  a  particular 
stage  of  the  debate.     He  was  engrossed  with  the  duties  of  his  own  com 
mittee,  and  had  bestowed  but  -little  attention  to  the  details  of  the  bill.    He 
concurred  in  the  general  views  and  policy  in  which  it  originated,  and  the 
more  readily  because  it  would  sustain  the  manufacturing  establishments 
that  had  grown  up  under  the  war-measures  of  the  government.     Shortly 
after  he  came  into  Congress,  he  had  anticipated,  as  has  been  stated,  the  dif 
ficulty  that  would  be  occasioned  by  the  new  direction  which  so  consider 
able  a  portion  of  the  capital  and  labour  of  the  country  had  taken  ;  and, 
while  he  professed  a  disposition  at  the  time  to  do  what  could  be  legiti 
mately  done  to  support  them  on  the  return  of  peace,  yet  he  used  his  best 
efforts  to  diminish  the  necessity,  as  far  as  practicable,  by  removing  every 
remnant  of  the  restrictive  system  during  the  war.     He  did  not  then,  nor 
do  we  believe  that  he  has  since  doubted  that,  in  deciding  whether  the  debt 
should  be  more  speedily  or  more  tardily  discharged,  the  favourable  effects 
which  the  former  mode  would  have  in  sustaining  the  manufacturing  estab 
lishments  was,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  a  legitimate  and  prop 
er  consideration.     But  truth  and  candour  require  us  to  say,  that,  as  far  as 
the  details  of  the  bill  went  beyond,  and  raised  the  duties  above  the  rev 
enue  point,  with  the  view  to  protection,  as  on  our  coarse  cottons  and 
rolled  iron,  he  has  long  believed  it  to  be  unconstitutional,  unjust,  and  un 
wise.     The  subject  was  new,  and  his  attention  was  drawn  to  other  sub 
jects,  and  he  did  not  take  the  proper  distinction  between  duties  for  revenue 
and  for  protection,  nor  was  it,  as  it  is  believed,  taken  at  the  time  by  any 
one.     He  who  will  examine  Mr.  Calhoun's  remarks  on  the  occasion  will 
not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  support  he  gave  the  bill  looked,  not  to  what 
has  since  been  called  the  protective  policy,  but  almost  wholly  to  consid 
erations  of  a  public  character  connected  with  the  foreign  relations  of  the 


20  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

country,  and  the  danger  resulting  from  war  to  a  country,  as  ours  was  then, 
in  a  great  measure,  dependant  on  agriculture  and  commerce  with  foreign 
nations,  without  the  requisite  naval  power  to  keep  open  in  war  the  chan 
nels  of  trade  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  In  fact,  it  is  difficult  at  this  time, 
in  the  changed  condition  of  the  country  and  the  world,  to  realize  the 
circumstances  tinder  which  the  public  men  of  that  day  acted,  and  the  mo 
tives  which  guided  them. 
«  To  do  so,  we  must  go  back  to  the  history  of  that  period.  A  just  and 

'  necessary  war  had  been  honourably  terminated  with  the  greatest  power 
in  the  world,  after  a  short  but  perilous  struggle.  The  violent  and  unpat 
riotic  course  of  the  opposition  during  the  war  had  so  discredited  it,  that 
the  name  and  doctrines  of  the  Federal  party,  once  so  respectable,  had  be- 
come  odious.  After  the  war,  they  ceased  to  use  their  old  name,  or  to 
avow  their  doctrines  as  a  party ;  and  the  long  struggle  between  them  and 
their  principles  and  policy,  and  the  Republican  party  and  their  principles 
and  policy,  was  supposed  to  have  finally  terminated  in  the  ascendency  of 
the  latter.  The  impression  was  almost  universal,  that  the  danger  to  our 

^popular  system  of  government  from  the  Federal  consolidation  doctrines 
was  ended.  The  only  cause  of  danger  to  the  country  and  its  institutions 
was  then  supposed  to  be  from  abroad.  The  overthrow  of  Bonaparte  was 
followed  throughout  Europe  by  a  powerful  reaction  against  the  popular 
principles  oji  whic^h  our  government  rests,  and  to  which,  through  the  in 
fluence  of  our  example,  the  French  Revolution  was  traced.  To  counter 
act  their  influence,  and  to  put  down  effectually  their  revival  in  Europe,  a 
league  of  all  the  great  Continental  monarchs  was  formed,  called  the  Holy 
Alliance.  Great  Britain  did  not  expressly  accede  to  it,  but  countenanced 
and  supported  it.  Our  country  of  all  the  world  stood  alone  in  opposi 
tion,  and  became  an  object  of  the  deepest  jealousy.  The  Spanish  prov 
inces  of  South  America,  it  is  true,  were  in  a  revolutionary  state,  and 
struggling  to  form  governments  similar  to  ours.  It  was  known  that 
this  formidable  combination  of  crowned  heads  meditated  hostile  move 
ments  against  them  on  political  grounds,  which  could  not  be  made  with 
out  involving  us.  In  such  a  state  of  the  world,  well  might  the  patriots 
of  that  day  be  roused  to  the  dangers  from  without,  almost  to  the  neg 
lect  of  those  from  within.  Had  events  taken  the  course  which  then  seem 
ed  so  probable,  much  that  was  then  said  and  done,  which  now  seems  to 
require  explanation,  would  have  been  regarded  as  profoundly  wise.  This 
is  pre-eminently  true  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  course.  Always  vigilant  and  soli 
citous  for  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  he  kept  his  eyes 
steadily  directed,  at  that  critical  period,  to  the  point  from  which  he  and 
all  then  thought  the  country  was  menaced,  and  was  active  and  zealous  in 
giving  such  a  direction  to  the  policy  of  the  government,  for  the  time,  as 
was  best  calculated  to  meet  it.  During  this  period,  he  spoke  at  large  on 
the  subject  of  defence  against  external  danger,  in  a  speech  delivered  on 
the  subject  of  the  repeal  of  the  direct  taxes,  and  which,  for  its  eloquence, 
ability,  and  lofty  and  patriotic  sentiments,  gained  him  great  applause.  To 
the  same  cause  may  be  traced  his  course,  and  that  of  the  great  body  of  the 
party  at  the  time,  on  most  of  the  subjects  in  reference  to  which  different 
views  are  now  entertained  by  them,  and,  among  others,  on  that  of  internal 
improvements.  On  that  subject,  as  well  as  upon  the  tariff,  his  views  have 
been  much  misunderstood  as  well  as  misrepresented.  Of  these  views  a 
brief  explanation  may  here  be  important. 

During  the  war,  while  the  coasting  trade  was  interrupted,  the  whole  in 
ternal  commercial  intercourse,  and  the  military  transportations  and  move 
ments  over  our  widely-extended  country,  had  to  pass  through  internal 
routes,  then  in  a  state  far  less  perfect  than  at  present,  and  the  difficulties 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  21 

were  immense.  Great  delay,  uncertainty,  and  expense  attended  the  con 
centration  of  any  considerable  force  or  supply  on  a  point  where  the  de 
fence  of  the  country  or  an  attack  on  the  enemy  made  it  necessary.  This 
greatly  enfeebled  our  military  operations,  and  contributed  much  to  ex 
haust  the  means  of  the  government.  So  great  were  the  expense  and  dif 
ficulties,  that  it  is  estimated,  for  example,  that  much  of  the  flour  delivered 
at  Detroit  during  the  war  cost  $60  per  barrel,  and  most  of  the  cannon 
and  ball  transported  to  the  lakes  not  less  than  50  cents  per  pound.  * 

At  the  commencement  of  the  first  session  after  the  war,  while  the  rec-  » 
ollection  of  these  things  was  fresh,  Mr.  Madison,  in  his  opening  message, 
among  other  things,  invited  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  subject  of 
internal  improvements,  and  recommended  Congress  to  call  into  exercise 
whatever  constitutional  power  it  might  possess  over  the  subject,  and  if 
that  should  not  prove  adequate,  to  apply  for  an  amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution  granting  such  additional  powers  as  would  be  sufficient.  Mr. 
Calhoun,  acting,  as  he  supposed,  in  strict  conformity  to  this  recommenda 
tion,  reported  a  bill  at  the  next  session,  to  set  apart  and  pledge  the  bonus 
of  the  United  States  Bank  and  their  share  of  its  dividends  as  a  fund  for 
internal  improvement.  It  made  no  appropriation,  nor  did  it  intend  to  af 
firm  that  Congress  had  any  power,  much  less  to  fix  the  limits  of  its  power, 
over  the  subject ;  but  to  leave  both,  as  well  as  the  appropriations  thereaf 
ter  to  be  made,  to  abide  the  decision  of  Congress,  in  conformity  with  the 
President's  views.  Nor  did  Mr.  C.  undertake  to  Establish  eith'er  in  his 
speech.  He  declined  both,  and  confined  his  remarks  to  the  general  ben 
efit  of  a  good  system  of  internal  improvements.  When  urged  to  assert 
the  power  of  Congress,  he  refused,  saying  that,  although  he  believed  it 
possessed  the  power  to  a  certain  extent,  he  was  not  prepared  to  say  to 
what  limits  it  extended.  He  had  not  the  least  suspicion,  in  reporting  and 
supporting  the  bill,  that  he  went  beyond  the  President's  recommendation, 
or  that  he  would  have  any  difficulty  in  approving  it,  till  the  bill  had  pass 
ed  both  Houses,  and  was  sent  to  him  for  his  signature. 

It  was  Mr.  Madison's  last  session,  and  only  a  few  days  before  its  termi 
nation,  when  the  bill  was  sent  to  him ;  and  while  it  was  still  before  him, 
Mr.  Calhoun  called  to  take  his  leave  of  him.  After  congratulating  him  on 
the  success  of  his  administration,  and  expressing  the  happiness  he  felt  in 
having  had  the  opportunity  of  co-operating  with  him  in  its  most  difficult 
period,  that  of  the  war,  he  took  his  leave.  When  he  reached  the  door, 
Mr.  Madison  requested  him  to  return.  He  did  so,  and  took  his  seat  \  and 
for  the  first  time  Mr.  M.  disclosed  to  him  his  constitutional  objections  to 
the  bill.  Mr.  Calhoun  expressed  his  deep  regret,  first,  that  he  should  en 
tertain  them,  and,  next,  that  he  had  not  intimated  them  to  him  in  time, 
saying  that,  if  he  had,  he  (Mr.  Calhoun)  would  certainly  not  have  subject 
ed  him  to  the  unpleasant  duty,  at  the  very  close  of  his  administration,  of 
vetoing  a  bill  passed  by  the  votes  of  his  friends,  nor  himself  to  having  the 
weight  of  his  name  and  authority  brought  against  him  on  such  a  subject. 
He  then  stated  that  he  had  introduced  the  bill,  as  he  believed,  in  strict  con 
formity  to  his  recommendation,  and  if  he  had  gone  beyond,  it  was  not  in 
tentional,  and  entreated  him  to  reconsider  the  subject ;  but  it  was  too  late. 

In  this  connexion,  it  is  due  to  candour  to  state,  that  although  Mr.  Cal 
houn  has  never  committed  himself,  in  any  speech  or  report,  as  to  the  ex 
tent  of  the  constitutional  powers  of  Congress  over  internal  improvements, 
yet  his  impression,  like  that  of  most  of  the  young  men  of  the  party  at  the 
time,  was,  that  it  was  comprehended  under  the  money-power  of  the  gov 
ernment.  Experience  and  reflection  soon  taught  him  this  was  an  error — 
one,  in  all  probability,  originating  with  him,  and  others  of  his  own  age,  in 
the  precedent  of  the  Cumberland  Road,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  first 


22  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

departure  by  the  Republican  party  from  the  true  construction  of  the  Con 
stitution  in  reference  to  that  dangerous  power.  Thus  much  it  has  been 
thought  proper  to  state  by  way  of  explanation,  and  as  due  to  that  por 
tion  of  our  political  history,  and  the  part  which  Mr.  Calhoun  acted  in  re- 
laion  to  it. 

The  subject  of  the  currency,  as  has  been  stated,  was  particularly  in- 
Y     trusted  to  Mr.  Calhoun.     It  was  regarded  as  the  most  difficult  and  impor 
tant  question  of  the  session.     All  the  banks  of  the  states  south  of  New- 
England  had,  at  an  early  period  of  the  war,  stopped  payment,  and  gold  and 
silver  had  entirely  disappeared,  leaving  within  their  limits  no  other  cur 
rency  than  the  notes  of  banks  that  either  would  not  or  could  not  redeem 
them.     Government  was  forced  to  submit,  and  not  only  to  collect  its  taxes 
\nd  dues,  and  make  its  disbursements,  and  negotiate  its  loans  in  their  dis- 

A  credited  and  depreciated  paper,  but  also  to  use  them,  at  the  same  time,  as 
the  agents  of  the  treasury  and  depositories  of  its  funds.  At  first  the  de 
preciation  was  inconsiderable,  but  it  continued  to  increase,  though  une 
qually,  in  the  different  portions  of  the  Union  to  the  end  of  the  war.  It 
was  then  hoped  it  would  stop  ;  but  the  fact  proved  far  otherwise  ;  for  the 
progress  of  depreciation  became  more  rapid  and  unequal  than  ever.  It 
was  greatest  at  the  centre  (the  District  of  Columbia  and  the  adjacent  re 
gion),  where  it.  had  reached  20  per  cent.,  as  compared  with  Boston ;  nor 
was  there  the  least  prospect  that  it  would  terminate  of  itself.  It  became 
absolutely'necessary,  in  this  state  of  things,  for  the  government  to  adopt 
the  rule  of  collecting  its  taxes  and  dues  in  the  local  currency  of  the  place, 
to  prevent  that  which  was  most  depreciated  from  flooding  the  whole 
Union  j  for  the  public  debtors,  if  they  had  the  option,  would  be  sure  to 
pay  in  the  most  depreciated.  But  the  necessary  effect  of  this  was  to  turn 
the  whole  import  trade  of  the  country  towards  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  the 
region  where  the  depreciation  was  the  greatest.  By  making  entry  there, 
the  duties  could  be  paid  in  the  local  depreciated  currency,  and  the  goods 
then  shipped  where  they  were  wanted.  The  result  of  the  rule,  though 
unavoidable,  was  to  act  as  a  premium  for  depreciation.  It  was  impossible 
to  tolerate  such  a  state  of  things.  It  was  in  direct  hostility  to  the  Con 
stitution,  which  provides  that  "  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be 
uniform  throughout  the  United  States,"  and  that  "  no  preference  shall  be 
given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state 
over  another."  Thus  the  only  question  was,  What  shall  be  done  1 

The  administration  was  in  favour  of  a  bank,  and  the  President  (Mr. 
Madison)  recommended  one  in  his  Message  at  the  commencement  of  the 
session.  The  great  body  of  the  Republican  party  in  Congress  concurred 
in  the  views  of  the  administration,  but  there  were  many  of  them  who  had, 
on  constitutional  grounds,  insuperable  objections  to  the  measure.  These, 
added  to  the  Federal  party,  who  had  been  against  the  war,  and  were,  in 
consequence,  against  a  bank,  constituted  a  formidable  opposition. 
"""Mr.  Calhoun,  whose  first  lesson  on  the  subject  of  banks,  taken  at  the 
preceding  session,  was  not  calculated  to  incline  him  to  such  an  institution, 
was  averse,  in  the  abstract,  to  the  whole  system  ;  but  perceiving  then  no 
other  way  of  relieving  government  from  its  difficulties,  he  yielded  to  the 

-  opinion  that  a  bank  was  indispensable.  The  separation  of  the  govern 
ment  and  the  banks  was  at  that  time  out  of  the  question.  A  proposition 
of  the  kind  would  have  been  rejected  on  all  sides.  Nor  was  it  possible 
then  to  collect  the  taxes  and  dues  of  the  government  in  specie.  It  had 
been  almost  entirely  expelled  the  country ;  there  appeared  to  be  no  alter 
native  but  to  yield  to  a  state  of  things  to  which  no  radical  remedy  could 
at  that  time  be  applied,  and  to  resort  to  a  bank  to  mitigate  the  evils  of  a 
system  which  in  its  then  state  was  intolerable/  This^  at  least,  was  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  23 

view  which  Mr.  Calhoun  took,  and  which  he  expressed  in  his  speech  on 
taking  up  the  bill  for  discussion.  It  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
elaborate  and  powerful  he  ever  delivered.  Unfortunately,  it  is  lost.  That 
published  at  the  time  is  a  meager  sketch  of  what  took  three  hours  in  the 
delivery,  and  such  as  it  is,  never  passed  under  his  review  and  correction, 
%and  omits  almost  entirely  all  that  does  not  immediately  refer  to  the  bank. 
"  The  passage  of  the  Bank  Bill  was  followed  by  the  joint  resolution  of 
1816,  which  prohibited,  after  a  certain  day,  the  reception  of  the  notes  of 
any  bank  which  did  not  pay  specie.  It  received  the  decided  support  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  and  was  the  first  step  towards  the  separation  of  the  govern 
ment  from  the  banking  system.  Through  the  joint  agency  of  the  two 
measures,  the  currency  was  brought  to  the  specie  standard,  and  the  evil 
remedied^. 

During  the  same  session  a  bill  was  passed  changing  the  per  diem  pay 
of  members  of  Congress  into  an  annual  compensation  of  $  1500.  It  proved 
to  be  exceedingly  unpopular  j  so  much  so,  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
members  who  voted  for  it  declined  offering  for  re-election,  and  those  who 
were  again  candidates,  with  few  exceptions,  were  defeated  at  the  polls. 
Mr.  Calhoun  voted  for  the  bill,  though  he  took  but  little  part  or  interest  in 
its  passage.  When  he  returned  to  his  constituents,  he  found,  for  the  first 
time,  the  tide  of  popular  favour  against  him.  So  strong  was  the  current, 
that  his  two  predecessors,  who  had  retired  in  his  favour,  General  Butler 
and  Colonel  Calhoun,  the  latter  a  near  relative,  were  both  violently  opposed 
to  him,  and  the  former  came  out  as  a  candidate  against  him.  They  were 
both  men  of  great  influence,  the  one  residing  at  Edgefield,  the  other  in  Ab 
beville,  and  these  two  formed  the  Congressional  district.  Only  a  few  faith 
ful  friends  ventured  openly  to  vindicate  his  vote.  He  was  advised  to  ap 
peal  to  the  kind  feelings  of  his  constituents,  and  apologize  for  his  course. 
This  he  peremptorily  declined,  declaring  that  he  had  voted  for  the  meas 
ure  because  he  believed  it  was  right,  and  could  not,  as  his  opinion  remain 
ed  unchanged,  apologize  for  that  which  his  judgment  approved.  He  ad 
ded,  at  the  same  time,  that  all  he  asked  was,  that  his  constituents  should 
give  him  a  hearing  in  explanation  of  his  vote.  A  day  was  appointed  in 
each  of  the  districts  for  him  to  address  them  at  the  courthouses.  He 
met  and  addressed  them  accordingly.  In  his  two  speeches  he  confined^} 
himself  to  the  merits  of  the  question,  without  apology  or  appeal  to  sym»-— -^ 
pathy,  but  with  such  force,  candour,  and  manliness,  that  the  tide  was  com 
pletely  turned,  and  he  was  triumphantly  re-elected. 

At  the  next  session  of  Congress  a  bill  was  introduced  to  repeal  the 
act.  It  gave  rise  to  an  animated  and  interesting  debate,  in  which  Mr. 
Calhoun  took  part,  and  entered  fully  into  the  merits  of  the  measure,  and 
the  reasons  which  governed  him  in  voting  for  it.  An  estimate  may  be 
formed  of  the  ability  of  the  speech  from  the  following  compliment  bestow 
ed  upon  it  by  Mr.  Grosvenor,  of  New- York,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  dis 
tinguished  members  of  the  House,  on  the  opposite  side  in  politics.  To 
understand  the  allusion  which  he  made,  and  to  appreciate  the  full  force 
of  the  compliment,  it  is  proper  to  premise  that  there  had  been  a  personal 
difference  between  him  and  Mr.  Calhoun  in  one  of  the  secret  sessions 
during  the  war,  since  which  they  had  not  been  on  speaking  terms. 
Mr.  Grosvenor  said,  "  He  had  heard,  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  the  able, 
manly,  and  constitutional  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  South  Carolina." 
[Here  Mr-  Grosvenor,  recurring  in  his  own  mind  to  their  personal  difference 
with  Mr.  Calhoun,  which  arose  out  of  the  warm  party  discussions  during 
the  war,  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  proceeded]  :  "  Mr.  Speaker,  I  will 
not  be  restrained.  No  barrier  shall  exist  which  I  will  not  leap  over  for 
the  purpose  of  offering  to  that  gentleman  my  thanks  for  the  judicious,  in- 


24  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

dependent,  and  national  course  which  he  has  pursued  in  this  House  for  the 
last  two  years,  and  particularly  upon  the  subject  now  before  us.  Let  the 
honourable  gentleman  continue  with  the  same  manly  independence,  aloof 
from  party  views  and  local  prejudices,  to  pursue  the  great  interests  of  his 
country,  and  fulfil  the  high  destiny  for  which  it  is  manifest  he  was  born. 
The  buzz  of  popular  applause  may  not  cheer  him  on  his  way,  but  he  will 
inevitably  arrive  at  a  high  and  happy  elevation  in  the  view  of  his  country 
and  the  world." 

He  made  another  effort  about  the  same  time  on  the  treaty-making  pow 
er,  of  which  William  Pinckney,  the  distinguished  advocate,  at  that  time  a 
member  of  the  House  from  Maryland,  and  who  followed  in  the  debate, 
said,  "The  strong  power  of  genius,  from  a  higher  region  than  that  of  ar 
gument,  had  thrown  on  the  subject  all  the  light  with  which  it  is  the  pre 
rogative  of  genius  to  invest  and  illustrate  everything ;"  and  still  more 
directly,  "The  gentleman  from  South  Carolina  (Mr.  Calhoun)  has  exhaust 
ed  the  correct  constitutional  grounds  of  the  question,  and  left  me  nothing 
but  to  recapitulate  his  arguments." 

After  taking  an  active  and  influential  part  in  all  the  great  questions 
which  grew  out  of  the  transition  from  a  state  of  war  to  that  of  peace, 
both  at  this  and  the  preceding  session,  he  began  to  turn  his  attention  to 
wards  correcting  the  abuses  which  existed  in  the  administrative  branches 
of  the  government,  and  more  especially  towards  the  disbursements,  in 
which  great  looseness  and  profusion  had  prevailed  during  the  war.  He 
had  ever  been  the  advocate  of  rigid  economy  and  accountability  in  the 
use  of  the  public  money,  and  had  resolved  thenceforward  to  devote  him 
self  to  their  enforcement  while  he  remained  in  Congress.  The  first  thing 
that  he  struck  at  was  the  dangerous  power  which  had  been  given  to  the 
President,  of  transferring  appropriations,  at  his  discretion,  from  one  branch 
of  service  to  another,  in  the  war  and  navy  departments ;  thereby  con 
verting,  in  effect,  specific  into  general  appropriations,  and  subjecting  them, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  his  control.  The  evil  had  become  so  inveterate 
that  it  could  not  all  at  once  be  extirpated.  The  chairman  of  the  Commit 
tee  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  both  opposed 
the  repeal  of  the  act  which  authorized  such  transfers,  but  he  neverthe 
less  succeeded,  against  their  opposition,  in  imposing  important  limitations 
on  the  power.  This  was  among  his  last  Congressional  acts. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Including  the  Period  during  his  Administration  of  the  War  Department. 

SHORTLY  before  the  meeting  of  Congress  at  the  next  session,  he  re 
ceived  an  invitation  from  Mr.  Monroe  to  take  a  place  in  his  cabinet  as 
Secretary  of  War.  It  was  unsolicited  and  unexpected.  His  friends,  with 
some  exceptions,  advised  against  his  acceptance,  on  the  ground  that  Con 
gress  was  the  proper  theatre  for  his  talents ;  Mr.  Lowndes  concurred  in 
this  advice,  and,  among  other  reasons,  urged  that  his  improvement  in 
speaking  had  been  such  that  he  was  desirous  to  see  the  degree  of  emi 
nence  he  would  reach  by  practice.  Indeed,  the  prevailing  opinion  at  the 
time  was,  that  his  talent  lay  more  in  the  power  of  thought  than  action. 
His  great  powers  of  analysis  and  generalization  were  calculated  to  make 
the  impression,  which  was  not  uncommon  at  the  time,  that  his  mind  was 
more  metaphysical  than  practical,  and  that  he  would  lose  reputation  in 
taking  charge  of  a  department,  especially  one  in  a  state  of  such  disorder 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOTJN.  25 

and  confusion  as  the  war  department  was  then.  The  reasons  assigned 
by  his  friends  served  but  to  confirm  Mr.  Calhoun  in  the  opinion  that 
he  ought  to  accept.  He  believed  the  impression  of  his  friends  was 
erroneous  as  to  the  character  of  his  mind;  but  if  not,  if  his  powers  lay 
rather  in  thinking  and  speaking  than  in  execution,  it  was  but  the  more 
necessary  he  should  exercise  them  in  the  latter,  and  thereby  strengthen 
them  where  they  were  naturally  the  weakest.  He  also  believed  that  he 
could  render  more  service  to  the  country  in  reforming  the  great  disbur 
sing  department  of  government,  admitted  to  be  in  a  state  of  much  disor 
der,  than  he  could  possibly  do  by  continuing  in  Congress,  where  most  of 
the  great  questions  growing  out  of  a  return  to  a  state  of  peace  had  been 
discussed  and  settled.  Under  the  influence  of  these  motives,  he  accept 
ed  the  proffered  appointment,  and  entered  on  the  duties  of  the  depart 
ment  early  in  December,  1817. 

Thus,  after  six  years  of  distinguished  services  in  Congress,  during  which 
Mr.  Calhoun  bore  a  prominent  and  efficient  part  in  originating  and  sup 
porting  all  the  measures  necessary  to  carry  the  country  through  one  of 
the  most  trying  and  difficult  periods  of  its  existence,  and  had  displayed 
throughout  great  ability  as  a  legislator  and  a  speaker,  we  find  him  in  a 
new  scene,  where  his  talents  for  business  and  administration  for  the  first 
time  are  to  be  tried.  He  took  possession  of  his  department  at  the  most 
unfavourable  period.  Congress  was  in  session,  when  much  of  the  time 
of  the  secretary  is  necessarily  occupied  in  meeting  the  various  calls  for 
information  from  the  two  Houses,  and  attending  to  the  personal  applica 
tion  of  the  members  on  the  business  of  their  constituents.  Mr.  Graham, 
the  chief  clerk,  an  able  and  experienced  officer,  retired  shortly  afterward, 
and  a  new  and  totally  inexperienced  successor  had  to  be  appointed  in  his 
place.  The  department  was  almost  literally  without  organization,  and 
everything  in  a  state  of  confusion.  Mr.  Calhoun  had  paid  but  little  at 
tention  to  military  subjects  in  any  of  their  various  branches.  He  had 
never  read  a  treatise  on  the  subject,  except  a  small  volume  on  the  Staflf. 

In  this  absence  of  information,  he  determined  at  once  to  do  as  little  as 
possible  at  first,  and  to  be  a  good  listener  and  a  close  observer  till  he 
could  form  a  just  conception  of  the  actual  state  of  the  department  and 
what  was  necessary  to  be  done.  Acting  on  this  prudent  rule,  he  heard 
all  and  observed  everything,  and  reflected  on  and  digested  all  that  he 
heard  and  saw.  In  less  than  three  months  he  became  so  well  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  the  department,  and  what  was  required  to  be  done,  that 
he  drew  up  himself,  without  consultation,  the  bill  for  organizing  it  on  the 
bureau  principle,  and  succeeded  in  getting  it  through  Congress  against  a 
formidable  opposition,  who  denounced  it  as  wild  and  impracticable.  But, 
on  the  contrary,  this  organization  has  been  proved  to  be  so  perfect,  that 
it  has  remained  unchanged  through  all  the  vicissitudes  and  numerous 
changes  of  parties  till  this  time,  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 

But  that  was  only  the  first  step.  The  most  perfect  system  is  of  little 
value  without  able  and  faithful  officers  to  carry  it  into  execution.  The 
President,  under  his  advice,  selected  to  fill  the  several  bureaus  such  offi 
cers  as  had  the  confidence  of  the  army  for  ability  and  integrity,  and  pos 
sessing  an  aptitude  of  talent  for  the  service  of  the  bureau  for  which  they 
were  respectively  selected.  With  each  of  these  Mr.  Calhoun  associated 
a  junior  officer,  having  like  qualifications,  for  his  assistant.  But,  to  give 
effect  to  the  system,  one  thing  was  still  wanting — a  code  of  rules  for  the 
department  and  each  of  its  bureaus,  in  order  to  give  uniformity,  consist 
ency,  efficacy,  and  stability  to  the  whole.  These  he  prepared,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  heads  of  the  respective  bureaus,  under  the  provision  of 
the  bill  for  the  organization  of  the  department,  which  gave  the  secretary 


26  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

the  power  to  establish  rules  not  inconsistent  with  existing  laws.  They 
form  a  volume  of  considerable  size,  which,  like  the  act  itself,  remains  sub 
stantially  the  same,  though,  it  is  to  be  feared,  too  often  neglected  in  prac 
tice  by  some  of  his  successors.  All  this  was  completed  in  the  course  of 
a  few  months  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  and  the  system  put  into  activo 
operation.  It  worked  without  a  jar. 

In  a  short  time  its  fruits  began  to  show  themselves  in  the  increased  ef 
ficiency  of  the  department  and  the  correction  of  abuses,  many  of  which 
were  of  long  standing.  To  trace  his  acts  through  the  period  of  more  than 
seven  years,  during  which  Mr.  Calhoun  remained  in  the  war-office,  would 
be  tedious,  and  occupy  more  space  than  the  object  of  this  sketch  would 
justify.  The  results,  which,  after  all,  are  the  best  tests  of  the  system  and 
the  efficiency  of  an  administration,  must  be  taken  as  a  substitute.  Suffice 
•*  it,  then,  to  say,  that  when  he  came  into  office,  he  found  it  in  a  state  of 
chaos,  and  left  it,  even  in  the  opinion  of  opponents,  in  complete  organiza 
tion  and  order.  An  officer  of  high  standing  and  a  competent  judge. pro 
nounced  it  the  most  perfectly  organized  and  efficient  military  establish 
ment  for  its  size  in  the  world.  He  found  it  with  upward  of  $40,000,000  of 
unsettled  accounts,  many  of  them  of  long  standing,  going  back  almost  to 
the  origin  of  the  government,  and  he  reduced  them  to  less  than  three 
millions,  which  consisted,  for  the  most  part,  of  losses,  and  accounts  that 
never  can  be  settled.  He  prevented  all  current  accumulation,  by  a  prompt 
and  rigid  enforcement  of  accountability  ;  so  much  so,  that  he  was  enabled 
to  report  to  Congress  in  1823,  that  "  of  the  entire  amount  of  money  drawn 
from  the  treasury  in  1822  for  military  service,  including  pensions  amount 
ing  to  $4,571,961  94,  although  it  passed  through  the  hands  of  291  dis 
bursing  officers,  there  has  not  been  a  single  defalcation,  nor  the  loss  of  a 
single  cent  to  the  government."  He  found  the  army  proper,  including  the 
Military  Academy,  costing  annually  more  than  $451  per  man,  including  of 
ficers,  professors,  and  cadets,  and  he  left  the  cost  less  than  $287 ;  or,  to  do 
more  exact  justice  to  his  economy,  he  diminished  such  parts  of  the  cost 
per  man  as  were  susceptible  of  reduction  by  an  efficient  administration, 
excluding  pay  and  such  parts  as  were  fixed  in  moneyed  compensation  by 
law,  from  $299  to  $150.  All  this  was  effected  by  wise  reforms,  and  not 
by  parsimony  (for  he  was  liberal,  as  many  supposed,  to  a  fault)  in  the  qual 
ity  and  quantity  of  the  supplies,  and  not  by  a  fall  of  prices ;  for  in  making 
the  calculation,  allowance  is  made  for  the  fall  or  rise  of  prices  on  every 
article  of  supply.  The  gross  saving  on  the  army  was  $1,300,000  annu 
ally,  in  an  expenditure  which  reached  $4,000,000  when  he  came  into  the 
department.  This  does  not  include  the  other  branches  of  service,  the  ord 
nance,  the  engineer  and  Indian  bureaus,  in  all  of  which  a  like  rigid  econ 
omy  and  accountability  were  introduced,  with  similar  results  in  saving  to 
the  government. 

These  great  improvements  were  made  under  adverse  circumstances. 
Party  excitement  ran  high  during  the  period,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  came  in  for 
his  full  share  of  opposition  and  misrepresentation,  which  maybe  explained 
by  the  fact  that  his  name  had  been  presented  as  a  candidate  for  the  pres 
idency.  He  was  often  thwarted  in  his  views  and  defeated  in  his  meas 
ures,  and  was  made  for  years  the  subject  of  almost  incessant  attacks  in 
Congress,  against  which  he  had  to  defend  himself,  but  with  such  com 
plete  success,  finally,  as  to  silence  his  assailants.  They  had  been  kept 
constantly  informed  of  every  movement  in  his  department  susceptible  of 
misconstruction  or  of  being  turned  against  him.  One  of  the  representa 
tives,  who  boarded  in  the  same  house  with  his  principal  assailant,  offered 
to  disclose  to  Mr.  Calhoun  the  channel  through  which  his  opponents  in 
Congress  derived  the  information  on  which  they  based  their  attacks.  Mr. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  27 

Calhoun  declined  to  receive  it.  He  said  he  did  not  object  that  any  act  of 
the  department  should  be  known  to  his  bitterest  enemies :  that  he  thought 
well  of  all  about  him,  and  did  not  desire  to  change  his  opinion ;  and  all 
that  he  regretted  was,  that  if  there  was  any  one  near  him  who  desired  to 
communicate  anything  to  any  member,  he  did  not  ask  for  his  permission, 
which  he  would  freely  have  given.  He  felt  conscious  he  was  doing  his 
duty,  and  dreaded  no  attack.  In  fact,  he  felt  no  wish  that  these  attacks 
should  be  discontinued.  He  knew  how  difficult  it  was  to  reform  long 
standing  and  inveterate  abuses,  and  he  used  the  assaults  on  the  department 
and  the  army  as  the  means  of  reconciling  the  officers,  who  might  be  profit 
ing  by  them,  to  the  measures  he  had  adopted  for  their  correction,  and  to 
enlist  them  heartily  in  co-operating  with  him  in  their  correction,  as  the  most 
certain  means  of  saving  the  establishment  and  themselves.  To  this  cause, 
and  to  the  strong  sense  of  justice  which  he  exhibited  on  all  occasions,  by 
the  decided  support  he  gave  to  all  who  did  their  duty,  and  his  no  less  de 
cided  discharge  of  his  duty  against  all  who  neglected  or  omitted  it,  is  to 
be  attributed  the  fact  that  he  carried  through  so  thorough  a  reform,  where 
there  was  so  much  disorder  and  abuse,  with  a  popularity  constantly  in-. 
*r  creasing  with  the  army.  Never  did  a  secretary  leave  a  department  with 
more  popularity  or  a  greater  degree  of  attachment  and  devotion  on  the 
part  of  those  connected  with  it  than  he  did. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  department,  he  made  many  and 
able  reports  on  the  subject  of  our  Indian  affairs,  on  the  reduction  of  the 
army,  on  internal  improvements,  and  others.  He  revived  the  Military 
Academy,  which  he  found  in  a  very  disordered  state,  and  left  it  in  great 
perfection ;  he  caused  a  minute  and  accurate  survey  to  be  made  of  the 
military  frontier,  inland  and  maritime,  and  projected,  through  an  able  board 
of  engineers,  a  plan  for  their  defence.  In  conformity  with  this  plan,  he 
commenced  a  system  of  fortification,  and  made  great  progress  in  its  exe 
cution,  and  he  established  a  cordon  of  military  posts  from  the  lakes 
around  our  northwestern  and  southwestern  frontiers  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Another  measure  remains  to  be  noticed,  which  will  be  regarded  in  after- 
times  as  one  of  the  most  striking  and  useful,  although  it  has  heretofore 
attracted  much  less  attention  than  it  deserves.  In  organizing  the  medical 
department,  Mr.  Calhoun,  with  those  enlarged  views  and  devotion  to  sci 
ence  which  have  ever  characterized  him,  directed  the  surgeons  at  all  the 
military  posts  extending  over  our  vast  country,  to  report  accurately  to  the 
surgeon-general  at  Washington  every  case  of  disease,  its  character,  its 
treatment,  and  the  result,  and  also  to  keep  a  minute  register  of  the 
weather,  the  temperature,  the  moisture,  and  the  winds,  to  be  reported  in 
like  manner  to  the  surgeon-general;  To  enable  them  to  comply  with  the 
order,  he  directed  the  surgeons  at  the  various  posts  to  be  furnished  with 
thermometers,  barometers,  and  hygrometers,  and  the  surgeon-general 
from  time  to  time  to  publish  the  result  of  their  observations  in  condensed 
reports,  which  were  continued  during  the  time  he  remained  in  the  war  de 
partment.  The  result  has  been,  a  vast  mass  of  valuable  facts,  connected 
with  the  diseases  and  the  climate  of  our  widely-extended  country,  collected 
through  the  long  period  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  They  have  been 
recently  collected  and  published  in  two  volumes  by  Dr.  Samuel  Forney,  of 
the  United  States  army.  The  one  is  entitled  "  Medical  Statistics,"  and  the 
other  "  The  Climate  of  the  United  States,"  in  which  many  interesting  facts 
are  disclosed  relative  to  the  diseases  and  climate  of  the  different  portions 
of  our  country.  This  example  has  been  already  followed  by  England,  on  a 
still  more  enlarged  scale,  and  will  doubtless  be  imitated  by  all  civilized  na 
tions,  and  will  in  time  lead  to  most  interesting  discoveries  in  the  sciences 
of  medicine  and  meteorology  generally.  The  honour  of  taking  the  first 


28  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

step  in  this  important  matter,  and  the  discoveries  to  which  it  will  lead, 
will,  under  the  enlightened  policy  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  belong  to  our  country. 

During  the  second  term  of  Mr.  Monroe's  administration,  the  names  of 
six  candidates  were  presented  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  the 
presidential  office,  Mr.  Adams,  Mr.  Crawford,  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Clay, 
Mr.  Lowndes,  and  Mr.  Calhoun.  The  names  of  the  two  latter  had  beer 
brought  forward,  the  former  by  South  Carolina,  and  the  latter  by  Penn 
sylvania,  and  both  nearly  at  the  same  time,  without  its  being  known  tc 
either  that  it  was  intended.  They  were  warm  and  intimate  friends,  and 
had  been  so  almost  from  their  first  acquaintance.  They  had  both  entered 
Congress  at  the  same  time,  and  had  rarely  ever  differed  in  opinion  on  any 
political  subject.  Mr.  Lowndes  was  a  few  years  the  oldest,  and  the  first 
nominated.  Mr.  Calhoun's  nomination  followed  almost  immediately  after. 
As  soon  as  he  heard  of  it,  he  called  on  Mr.  L.,  and  stated  that  it  had  been 
made  without  his  knowledge  or  solicitation,  and  that  he  called  to  say  that 
he  hoped  the  position  in  which  they  had  been  placed  by  their  friends  to 
wards  each  other  would  not  affect  their  private  and  friendly  relations. 
That  he  would  regard  it  as  a  great  misfortune  should  such  be  the  effect, 
and  was  determined  on  his  part  to  do  everything  to  avoid  it.  Mr.  Lowndes 
heartily  reciprocated  the  same  sentiment.  It  is  unnecessary  to  state  that 
they  faithfully  adhered  to  their  resolution  ;  and  these  two  distinguished 
citizens  of  the  same  state,  and  nearly  of  the  same  age,  set  the  noble  and 
rare  example  of  being  placed  by  friends  as  rivals  for  the  highest  office  in 
the  gift  of  a  great  people,  without  permitting  their  mutual  esteem  and 
friendship  to  be  impaired. 

But,  unfortunately  for  themselves,  and,  it  may  be  said,  for  the  country, 
the  same  harmony  of  feeling  was  not  preserved  between  Mr.  Calhoun  and 
another  of  the  candidates,  Mr.  Crawford.  They  had  been  long  acquaint 
ed,  and  although  residing  in  different  states,  they  lived  but  a  short  dis 
tance  apart,  and  had  been  long  on  friendly  terms.  It  is  difficult  to  trace 
the  chain  of  causes  by  which  they  and  their  friends  were  brought  into 
collision.  Mr.  Calhoun  supported  decidedly  Mr.  Monroe  in  his  first 
election,  when  Mr.  Crawford's  name  had  been  brought  forward  in  opposi 
tion  to  him.  He  had  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Ke- 
lations,  while  Mr.  Monroe  was  Secretary  of  State,  during  Mr.  Madison's 
time,  and  had,  from  his  frequent  and  intimate  intercourse  with  him,  form 
ed  a  high  estimate  of  his  character  for  honesty,  fidelity,  and  patriotism, 
to  which,  adding  his  sound  judgment,  long  public  service  and  experience, 
his  age,  and  revolutionary  claims,  it  was  natural,  without  disparaging  the 
high  qualifications  of  Mr.  Crawford,  he  should  give  him  the  preference. 
Mr.  Crawford's  friends  relied  on  a  Congressional  caucus  for  a  nomination, 
to  which  Mr.  Calhoun  was  opposed,  and  against  which  he  long  stood  out 
with  the  leading  friends  of  Mr.  Monroe  in  Congress.  They  finally  assent 
ed  reluctantly  to  go  into  one,  to  avoid  a  split  in  the  party.  Mr.  Monroe 
was  nominated  by  a  small  majority,  when,  in  the  opinion  of  his  friends,  the 
majority  of  the  people  was  overwhelming  in  his  favour.  It  is  not  extraor 
dinary  that  he  and  many  of  his  other  friends,  with  this  impression,  should 
have  been  confirmed  in  their  objections  to  a  caucus  nomination,  as  calcu 
lated  to  be  influenced  by  improper  considerations,  and  thus,  instead  of 
concentrating  the  will  of  the  people,  as  it  was  originally  intended  to  do, 
becoming  capable  of  being  made  the  instrument  of  defeating  it,  and  of 
imposing  on  the  country  a  President  not  of  its  choice. 

When  Mr.  Crawford's  friends  brought  forward  his  name  the  second 
time,  they  again  relied  on  a  caucus;  while  the  friends  of  all  the  other 
candidates  were  in  favour  of  leaving  the  election  to  a  direct  appeal  to  the 
sense  of  the  people,  as  they  all  belonged  to  one  party,  and  professed  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  29 

same  political  creed.  With  his  decided  impression  against  a  caucus, 
strengthened,  as  has  been  stated,  by  what  occurred  at  the  first  election  of 
Mr.  Monroe,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends  should 
take  a  prominent  stand  against  another  appeal  to  a  Congressional  caucus  : 
that,  together  with  the  latent  feelings  on  both  sides  (of  which  both  were 
perhaps  unconscious),  growing  out  of  the  stand  he  made  in  favour  of  Mr. 
Monroe  and  against  Mr.  Crawford,  probably  led  to  the  regretted  division 
between  their  friends,  which  continued,  as  usual,  long  after  the  cause 
had  ceased,  with  such  mischievous  influence  on  the  politics  of  the  country 
and  the  party  to  which  both  belonged. 

Time  and  experience  have  decided  against  a  Congressional  caucus ;  but 
it  must  be  admitted,  looking  back  to  the  scenes  of  that  day,  that  much 
might  be  said  for  and  against  it.  It  is  certainly  highly  desirable  that  the 
people  should  act  directly  in  voting  for  a  President,  uninfluenced  by  the 
address  and  management  of  powerful  combinations  of  individuals  acting 
through  a  small  body,  and  who,  in  making  a  nomination,  may  respect  their 
own  interest  and  feelings  much  more  than  the  voice  of  the  people,  or 
even  the  party  they  represent.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  without  the  inter 
mediate  agency  of  some  such  body  in  so  large  a  country,  and  with  so 
many  prominent  citizens  from  which  to  make  a  selection,  the  danger  of 
discord  in  the  ranks  of  the  majority,  and,  through  it,  of  the  triumph  of  a 
minority  in  the  election,  is  great.  The  chance  is  between  discord  with 
all  its  consequences,  and  the  dictation  of  party  leaders  with  all  its  effects. 
Each  is  pregnant  with  mischief.  It  is  the  weak  point  of  the  government, 
and  unless  it  be  guarded  with  the  utmost  vigilance,  must  end,  on  the  one 
hand,  in  interminable  confusion,  or,  on  the  other,  in  rendering  the  election 
by  the  people  merely  nominal.  Without  such  vigilance,  the  real  election 
would  degenerate  into  the  dictation  of  caucus.  It  was  on  this  difficult 

Eoint  that  the  friends  of  these  two  distinguished  citizens  split,  and  it  is 
jft  to  time  and  experience  yet  to  decide  which  were  right. 

In  the  progress  of  the  canvass  the  talented  and  lamented  Lowndes  died, 
in  the  prime  of  life,  and  Mr.  Calhoun's  friends  in  Pennsylvania,  with  his 
acquiescence,  withdrew  his  name,  rather  than  subject  the  state  to  a  violent 
contest  between  them  and  the  friends  of  General  Jackson.  They  had 
maintained  throughout  the  canvass  the  most  friendly  relations,  and  were 
both  decidedly  opposed  to  the  caucus.  On  his  withdrawal,  he  was  taken 
up  by  the  friends  both  of  General  Jackson  and  Mr.  Adams  for  the  Vice- 
presidency. 

This  memorable  canvass  terminated  in  returning  General  Jackson,  Mr. 
Adams,  and  Mr.  Crawford  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  from  which 
three,  by  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  one  was  to  be  elected.  The 
electoral  votes  received  by  each  stood  in  the  order  in  which  their  names 
are  placed.  Mr.  Calhoun  was  elected  by  the  people  Vice-president  by  a 
large  majority.  The  House,  voting  by  states,  on  the  first  ballot  elected 
Mr.  Adams.  Mr.  Clay,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the  body,  voted  for 
him,  against,  as  it  was  believed,  the  sense  of  a  majority  of  his  constitu 
ents.  That  impression,  connected  with  his  previous  relations,  personal 
and  political,  with  Mr.  Adams,  caused  much  excitement,  and  a  strong  de 
termination  on  the  part  of  many  to  organize  forthwith  an  opposition  to  the 
new  administration.  Mr.  Calhoun  discountenanced  an  immediate  move, 
on  the  ground  that,  although,  in  his  opinion,  the  vote  belonged  to  the 
state,  and  should  be  given  to  the  candidate  the  state  would  elect  if  left  to 
its  choice,  yet  he  was  not  prepared  to  say  whether  there  might  not  be 
circumstances  under  which  a  member  might  assume  the  high  responsibil 
ity  of  voting  otherwise,  and,  for  the  justification  of  his  conduct,  throw 
himself  on  the  state ;  but  he  thought  it  indispensable  that  the  member  as- 


30  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

suming  it  should  make  out  a  strong-  case,  and  that  he  would  owe  it  to 
himself  and  the  country  to  place  his  relations  and  conduct  towards  the  ad 
ministration  of  him  whom  he  had  elected  above  all  suspicion.  His  advice 
induced  his  friends  to  wait  the  development  of  events  ;  but  when  Mr.  Clay 
afterward  took  office,  and  Mr.  Adams  adopted,  in  its  full  extent,  Mr.  Clay's 
American  System,  opposition  to  the  administration  from  himself  and  his 
friends  followed  as  a  matter  of  course. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Including  the  Period  during  which  he  was  Vice-president. 

MR.  CALHOUN  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  as  Vice-president  on  the  4-th  of 
March,  1825,  having  remained  in  the  war  department  a  few  months  more 
than  seven  years.  There  never  was  a  department  left  in  more  perfect  or 
der.  It  literally  almost  moved  of  itself.  When  he  took  charge  of  the 
department,  it  was  difficult  to  discharge  its  duties  with  less  than  fourteen 
or  fifteen  hours  of  severe  daily  labour ;  but  when  he  left  it,  the  secretary 
had  little  to  do  beyond  signing  his  name  and  deciding  on  such  cases  as 
were  brought  up  by  the  subordinate  officers,  and  were  not  embraced  in  the. 
numerous  and  comprehensive  rules  provided  for  their  government.  He 
had  not,  indeed,  been  long  in  office  before  those  who  doubted  his  execu 
tive  talents  were  disposed  to  place  them  even  above  his  parliamentary, 
_reat  as  they  were  acknowledged  to  be.  He  united,  in  a  remarkable  de 
gree,  quickness  with  precision,  firmness  with  patience  and  courtesy,  and 
industry  with  the  higher  capacity  for  arrangement  and  organization  j  and 
to  these  he  added  exemption  from  favouritism,  a  high  sense  of  justice  and 
inflexible  devotion  to  duty.  Taken  together,  they  formed  a  combination 
so  fortunate,  that  General  Bernard,  who  had  been  a  favourite  aid-de-camp 
of  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  saw  and  knew  much  of  him,  and  who  was 
chief  of  the  board  of  engineers  while  Mr.  Calhoun  was  secretary,  and  had 
an  equal  opportunity  of  observing  him,  not  unfrequently,  it  is  said,  com 
pared  his  administrative  talents  to  those  of  that  extraordinary  man. 

The  duties  of  the  office  of  Vice-president,  though  it  is  one  of  high  dig 
nity,  are  limited,  except  giving  a  casting  vote  when  the  body  is  equally 
divided,  to  presiding  in  the  Senate,  which,  in  a  body  so  small  and  cour 
teous,  and  having  so  few  and  simple  rules,  affords  but  little  opportunity 
for  the  display  even  of  the  peculiar  talents  necessary  for  Presidency  in  a 
deliberative  body.  The  most  eminent  in  filling  such  an  office  cannot 
leave  much  behind  worth  remembering.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  of  him, 
that,  as  a  presiding  officer,  he  was  impartial,  prompt,  methodical,  and  at 
tentive  to  his  duties.  He  always  appeared  and  took  his  seat  early  in  the 
session,  and  continued  to  preside  till  within  a  short  time  of  its  close  j 
contrary  to  the  practice  of  some  of  his  immediate  predecessors,  who,  by 
their  long  and  frequent  absence  from  their  seat,  had  permitted  the  office 
to  fall  into  some  discredit.  He  was  careful  in  preserving  the  dignity  of 
the  Senate,  and  raising  its  influence  and  weight  in  the  action  of  the  gov 
ernment.  In  putting  questions,  he  changed  the  form  of  address  from 
"Gentlemen"  to  the  more  simple  and  dignified  address  of  "Senators," 
which  has  since  been  preserved,  and  adopted  by  the  senators  themselves 
in  alluding  to  each  other  in  debate.  But  the  most  important  and  mem 
orable  incident  connected  with  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  the  presiding 
officer,  and  the  most  characteristic  of  the  man,  was  the  stand  he  took  in 
favour  of  the  rights  of  the  body  itself,  and  against  his  own  power.  He 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  31 

decided,  during  a  period  of  great  excitement  on  the  Panama  Question, 
when  party  spirit  ran  high,  and  the  debate  was  very  warm  and  personal, 
that  he  had  no  right  to  call  a  senator  to  order  for  words  spoken  in  debate. 
He  rested  his  decision  on  the  broad  ground  that,  as  the  presiding  officer, 
he  had  no  power  but  to  carry  into  effect  the  rules  adopted  by  the  body, 
either  expressly  or  by  usage,  and  that  there  was  neither  rule  nor  usage 
to  authorize  him  to  exercise  the  power  in  question.  On  the  contrary, 
the  rules  of  the  Senate,  by  strong  implication,  limited  the  power  of  call 
ing  to  order  for  words  spoken  in  debate  to  the  members  themselves,  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  presiding  officer.  And  yet  this  decision,  resting  on  so 
solid  a  foundation,  subjected  Mr.  Calhoun  to  the  fiercest  attacks  and  the 
grossest  abuse  ;  and,  what  is  more  extraordinary,  he  was  opposed  by  the 
members  themselves,  whose  rights  he  maintained,  with  the  exception  of 
Mr.  Macon,  Mr.  Tazewell,  and  a  few  others  of  the  elder  and  more  expe 
rienced,  and  his  immediate  personal  friends.  To  understand  how  this 
should  happen,  it  is  necessary  to  advert  to  the  existing  state  of  the  parties, 
and  the  circumstances  under  which  the  decision  was  made. 

The  circumstances  under  which  Mr.  Adams  was  elected,  the  part  which 
Mr.  Clay  took  in  his  election,  and  the  prominent  position  to  which  he  was 
appointed  in  his  cabinet,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  opposition  which 
finally  overthrew  his  administration.  This  opposition  was  greatly  strength 
ened  by  the  bold  Federal  and  consolidation  doctrines  avowed  by  Mr. 
Adams  in  his  inaugural  address,  and  by  the  wild  measures  of  policy  which 
he  recommended.  Among  these  was  the  project  of  sending  commission 
ers  to  the  Congress  proposed  to  be  convened  at  Panama  of  all  the  states 
that  had  grown  up  on  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  dominions  on  this 
Continent.  This  was  a  favourite  measure  of  the  administration.  Mr. 
Calhoun  was  understood  to  be  decidedly  opposed  to  it,  both  on  the  ground 
of  unconstitutionally  and  inexpediency  ;  and  it  was  on  that  question  that 
the  first  attack  was  made  on  the  administration.  It  commenced  in  the 
Senate  ;  and,  as  he  had  not  disguised  his  disapprobation,  he  was  regarded 
in  a  great  measure  as  the  adviser  and  author  of  the  attack,  which,  of 
course,  subjected  him  to  the  fierce  and  united  assaults  of  the  administra 
tion  and  its  friends.  At  the  same  time,  the  opposition  in  the  Senate, 
though  united  against  the  administration,  and  its  doctrines  and  policy,  con 
sisted  of  individuals  who  had  but  a  short  time  before  held  political  rela 
tions  with  men  far  from  being  friendly.  They  consisted  of  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Crawford,  General  Jackson,  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  such  portion  of  Mr. 
Clay's  as  disapproved  of  his  connexion  with  Mr.  Adams.  With  the  ex 
ception  of  his  own  friends,  and  those  of  General  Jackson,  there  was  no 
indisposition,  on  the  part  of  a  large  portion  of  the  rest  of  the  opposition, 
to  see  him  sacrificed  by  the  party  in  power.  But  as  difficult  and  critical 
as  was  his  position,  it  could  not  prevent  him  from  a  manly  avowal  of  his 
opinion  on  a  novel,  and  what  he  believed  to  be  an  important  question,  or 
from  exposing  himself  to  hazard  when  principle  and  duty  required  him  to 
assert  the  rights  of  the  body,  though  against  his  own  power.  But  what 
added  greatly  to  the  excitement  and  abuse  was  the  particular  occasion 
upon  which  the  decision  was  made.  Mr.  Randolph  was  then  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Senate,  and  gave  full  vent  to  his  inimitably  sarcastic  powrer 
against  the  administration,  and  especially  against  the  President  and  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  their  supporters  in  the  body.  It  was  too  keenly 
felt  by  the  last  to  permit  them  to  do  justice  to  the  grounds  on  which  Mr. 
Calhoun  placed  his  decision,  and  the  occasion  was  too  favourable  to  be 
permitted  to  pass  without  a  formal  attack  on  him.  A  writer  of  great  power 
(supposed  to  be  the  President  himself)  attacked  his  decision  with  much 
acrimony,  under  the  signature  of  Patrick  Henry.  Finding  it  impossible 
.;••]'>]  »')!;•,  j  •  •'//  ^rMmtrtj 


82  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

to  assail  the  decision  with  effect,  or  through  the  rules  of  the  Senate  or 
its  usage,  he  was  forced  to  assume  the  position  that  the  Vice-president, 
in  virtue  of  his  office,  derived  the  power  of  calling  a  senator  to  order  for 
words  spoken  in  dcbatf,  not  from  the  body  itself,  but  directly  from  the  Con 
stitution,  and  that,  in  exercising  the  power,  he  was  wholly  independent  of 
its  will.  This  gave  the  whole  subject  a  new  and  highly  important  aspect ; 
for  if  it  could  be  successfully  maintained,  it  would  give  the  Vice-president 
supreme  control  over  the  freedom  of  debate  in  the  Senate.  To  this  a  re- 
ply  followed  (supposed  to  be  from  Mr.  Calhoun),  in  two  numbers,  under 
the  signature  of  Onslow,  that  so  completely  demolished  the  argument  of 
Patrick  Henry  as  to  turn  the  tide  in  his  favour.  The  Senate  itself  be 
came  so  well  satisfied  of  the  injustice  done  him,  that  on  the  revisal  of  the 
rules  a  year  or  two  afterward,  they  gave  him  the  power  in  question,  with 
an  almost  unanimous  approval  of  his  decision.  It  was  thus,  by  his  fair 
ness  under  these  trying  circumstances,  that  he  preserved  a  right  of  the 
body,  which  he  might  have  usurped,  not  only  with  safety,  but  with  in 
creased  popularity  for  the  time;  but  of  which  the  Senate  could  not  be  di 
vested  without  a  surrender  of  the  freedom  of  debate,  and  the  right  of 
making  their  own  rules,  secured  to  them  by  the  Constitution  itself. 

So  vigorous  was  this  first  onset  of  the  opposition,  that  the  administra- 
X  tion  reeled  under  the  force  of  the  blow,  and  it  became  apparent  that  no 
thing  but  some  bold  step  could  save  them  from  defeat,  by  the  election  of 
General  Jackson,  under  whom  the  opposition,  with  the  hearty  concurrence 
of  Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  friends,  had  unanimously  rallied.  The  great 
strength  of  the  administration  lay  in  the  various  powerful  interests  rallied 
under  the  plausible  name  of  Home  Industry  and  the  American  System,  of 
which  the  Secretary  of  State  was  the  acknowledged  head,  and  to  which 
the  President  had  given  his  adhesion.  Their  hope  of  holding  power  rested 
on  a  unanimous  and  zealous  rally  of  that  powerful  combination  in  favour 
of  the  administration.  The  tariff  was  the  great  central  interest,  around 
which  all  the  others  revolved.  The  whole  party,  without  schism,  were 
united  in  its  favour,  while  the  opposition  was  greatly  divided  in  reference 
to  it ;  a  great  portion  of  the  party,  North  and  West,  being  in  its  favour, 
while  the  South  and  Southwest  were  united  almost  to  a  man  against  it. 
In  fact,  the  portion  of  the  Union  at  that  time  most  attached  to  a  high  pro 
tective  tariff  was  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  and  yet  its  union  with 
the  South  and  Southwestern  portion  was  indispensable  to  the  election  of 
General  Jackson.  The  advantage  this  state  of  things  afforded  was  per 
ceived  by  those  in  power,  and  was  not  permitted  to  remain  without  an. 
attempt  to  turn  it  to  account. 

For  that  purpose,  a  general  convention  was  called  to  meet  at  Harris- 
burg,  the  seat  of  government  in  Pennsylvania,  and  the  friends  of  the 
tariff  everywhere  were  invited  to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  the 
manufacturing  interest,  and  to  devise  measures  for  its  farther  promotion. 
The  place  was  well  chosen.  Pennsylvania,  though  a  thorough  tariff  state, 
was  favourable  to  General  Jackson's  election,  and  its  support  was  regard. 
ed  as  indispensable  to  his  success.  It  met,  and  attempted  to  rally  the 
whole  interest  by  an  elaborate  report  in  favour  of  the  protective  system, 
accompanied  by  a  scheme  of  high  duties,  to  be  presented  to  Congress  at 
the  next  session  for  its  action.  It  was  thought,  if  the  friends  of  General 
Jackson  in  the  tariff  states  should  oppose  it,  his  defeat  in  those  states 
would  be  certain  ;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  they  should  support  it.  a  schism 
between  his  Northern  and  Southern  supporters  would  be  equally  certain, 
and  with  not  less  certainty  would  be  followed  by  his  defeat.  But,  as 
plausible  as  the  calculation  was,  the  tariff  friends  of  General  Jackson  in 
New-York,  Pennsylvania,  New-Jersey,  and  the  West,  succeeded,  as  far  as 
politics  were  concerned,  in  turning  it  against  its  projectors. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  33 

'They  succeeded  in  electing  the  speaker,  and  in  obtaining  the  majority 
t)f  the  Committee  of  Manufactures  in  the  House.  Instead  of  adopting  the 
Harrisburg  scheme,  this  committee  reported  a  thorough  protective  tariff, 
such  as  suited  the  states  they  represented^  imposing  duties  even  higher 
and  more  indiscriminately  than  those  of  the  Harrisburg  plan.  They  laid 
their  duties  without  the  slightest  regard  to  the  navigating  and  commercial 
interests  of  New-England,  and  so  managed  it  as  to  induce  the  Southern 
members  to  resist  all  the  amendments  offered  to  render  it  acceptable  to 
those  who  represented  that  interest,  in  the  expectation  of  defeating  the 
bill,  either  on  its  passage  through  the  House  or  in  the  Senate,  by  the  uni 
ted  votes  of  the  members  from  those  states  and  the  South  and  Southwest. 
The  expectation  proved  fallacious.  The  bill  passed  the  House  by  a  small 
majority,  a  large  portion  of  the  New-England  members  voting  against  it ; 
but  when  it  came  to  the  Senate,  where  the  relative  united  strength  of  the 
Southern  and  New-England  States  is  much  greater  than  in  the  House,  it 
\vas  ascertained  that  the  bill  could  not  pass  unless  it  was  modified  so  as 
to  be  acceptable  to  the  senators  from  New-England  favourable  to  the  ad 
ministration.  It  was  so  modified  by  the  votes  of  the  senators  opposed  to 
the  administration  from  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  contrary  to  the 
expectation  of  the  South ;  for  the  bill,  as  modified,  received  the  votes  of 
the  New-England  senators  in  favour  of  the  administration,  which,  added 
to  those  in  favour  of  General  Jackson  from  New-York,  New- Jersey,  Penn 
sylvania,  and  the  Northwest,  made  a  majority.  It  passed,  accordingly, 
and  became  a  law ;  but  under  such  circumstances  as  not  only  to  deprive 
the  administration  of  the  advantage  they  anticipated  from  the  scheme,  but 
to  turn  it  directly  against  them. 

Unfortunately,  however,  in  this  political  manoeuvring  in  the  presidential  con 
test,  equity,  justice,  the  Constitution,  and  the  public  welfare  were  overlooked. 
The  interests  of  the  great  body  of  the  consumers  and  of  nine  tenths  of  the  pro 
ducing  interests,  including  especially  the  growers  of  the  great  agricultural  sta 
ples,  rice,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  with  those  engaged  in  commerce,  ship-building, 
and  navigation,  and  all  their  connected  interests,  were  sacrificed  to  promote  the 
prosperity  of  a  single  interest,  and  that  constituting  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
community.     But  the  evil  ended  not  with  their  sacrifice,  as  immense  as  it  was. 
As  bad  as  was  the  effect  in  its  pecuniary  bearing,  it  was  far  worse  in  its  finan 
cial,  political,  and  moral  operation.     Never,  in  that  respect,  was  a  measure  of 
the  kind  passed  under  more  adverse  circumstances.     Viewed  in  its  financial 
aspect,  it  was  worse  than  folly— it  was  madness  itself.     The  public  debt  was 
nearly  extinguished,  under  the  wise  policy  adopted  after  the  war.     After  its 
final  discharge,  one  half  nearly  of  the  annual  revenue  applied  to  the  payment  of 
its  principal  and  interest  would  be  liberated,  which,  if  a  wise  and  just  policy 
had  been  adopted,  would  have  enabled  the  government  to  reduce  the  duties  one 
half,  and  still  leave   a  sufficient  revenue  to  provide  amply  for  all  the  public 
wants.     Instead  of  that,  and  in  the  face  of  these  consequences,  the  duties  were 
greatly  increased,  so  much  so  as  to  be,  on  an  average,  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  on 
the  value  of  the  imports.     This  led  to  a  corresponding  increase  of  the  revenue, 
which,  in  turn,  hastened  proportionally  the  final  discharge  of  the  debt,  when, 
by  necessity,  one  of  three  consequences  ,must  follow  :  a  vast  increase  of  expend 
itures  ;  a  sudden  reduction  of  the  duties,  to  the  ruin  of  the  manufacturers  ;  or 
else   an  immense   surplus  in  the  treasury,  with  all  its   corrupting  influence. 
These  obvious  results  were  either  not  seen  or  disregarded  by  those  who  were 
governed  by  cupidity,  or  too  intensely  engaged  in  the  presidential  contest  to 
look  to  consequences. 

It  is  regarded  as  necessary  to  understand  the  history  of  the  origin  and  pas 
sage  of  that  disastrous  measure,  in  order  to  have  a  just  conception  of  the  events 
which  have  since  occurred,  and  the  motives  which  governed  Mr.  Calhoun's 

E 


34  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

course  in  reference  to  them.  To  it  may  be  traced  almost  every  important  inci 
dent  in  our  political  history  since  that  time,  as  far  as  our  internal  affairs  are 
concerned.  To  it,  too,  may  be  ascribed  the  division  in  the  Republican  party, 
which  separated  Mr  (Jullioun  and  the  States'  Rights  portion  from  the  other,  and 
the  disasters  which  have  impaired  the  credit  and  standing  of  the  country,  and 
deranged  and  interrupted  its  currency,  finances,  commerce,  and  industrial  oper 
ations.  Mr.  Calhoun,  although  not  an  actor  at  the  time,  was  not  an  inattentive 
observer  of  what  passed.  His  position  as  President  of  the  Senate  afford ( tl 
great  advantages  for  observation  and  reflection,  of  which  he  did  not  fail  to  av£,l 
himself  from  the  time  he  first  took  his  seat.  Questions  relating  to  the  protect 
ive  policy  were  constantly  occurring  in  one  form  or  another,  and  especially  at 
tracted  his  attention  and  excited  reflection.  He  was  not  long  in  making  him 
self  master  of  that  policy  in  all  its  bearings,  economical  and  political,  and  in 
becoming  thoroughly  satisfied  that  it  was  unconstitutional,  unjust,  unequal,  and 
oppressive  in  its  character  and  tendency,  and  that  it  must,  in  the  end,  if  it  be 
came  the  established  arid  permanent  policy,  lead  to  the  overthrow  of  our  free 
and  popular  system  of  government.  With  this  impression  of  the  system,  he 
watched  with  vigilance  the  progress  of  the  tariff  of  1828,  from  its  incipient  state 
at  Harrisburg  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  through  the  Senate.  The  results  of  his 
observation  confirmed  him  in  all  his  previous  objections  to  the  system,  and 
strengthened  his  conviction  of  the  dangers  to  which  it  exposed  our  institutions. 
For  the  first  time  he  began  to  fear,  from  the  part  taken  in  the  passage  of  the 
bill  in  the  Senate  by  a  considerable  and  influential  portion  of  the  party,  that  the 
leading  object  which  he  and  his  friends  had  in  view  in  the  presidential  contest 
(a  gradual  and  cautious  reduction  of  the  duties  to  the  revenue  standard  prepar 
atory  to  the  discharge  of  the  debt)  might  not  be  realized  by  a  change  of  admin 
istration.  He  saw  that  the  passage  of  the  bill  opposed  great  and  almost  insu 
perable  difficulties  to  effecting  what  they  desired  ;  but  neither  he  nor  they 
permitted  these  misgivings  to  abate  their  zeal  in  support  of  General  Jackson's 
election.  They  still  hoped  for  the  best  from  him  ;  and  how  strongly  Mr.  C. 
desired  his  election,  an  occurrence  at  the  time  will  best  illustrate. 

The  Senate  was  so  nearly  equally  divided  at  one  time,  that  it  was  Jbelieved 
that  the  friends  of  the  administration  would  intentionally  so  arrange  it,  as  to 
make  a  tie,  and  throw  the  casting  vote  on  the  Vice-president,  in  order  to  defeat 
General  Jackson's  election.  His  friends  became  alarmed,  and  some  of  them 
intimated  a  desire  that  Mr.  Calhoun  should  leave  his  seat  to  avoid  the  effect, 
stating  as  an  inducement  that,  in  the  event  of  a  tie,  the  bill  would  be  defeated 
without  his  vote.  He  promptly  refused,  and  replied  that  no  consideration  could 
prevent  him  from  remaining  and  doing  his  duty  by  voting  against  it ;  but  added, 
it  should  not  hurt  General  Jackson's  election,  for  in  that  event  his  name  should 
be  withdrawn  from  the  ticket  as  Vice-president.  Such  was  the  interest  he  took 
in  his  success,  and  so  strong,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  patriotic,  was  his  oppo 
sition  to  the  bill  of  abominations  ;  and  yet  many  have  been  so  unjust  as  to  at 
tribute  his  after  opposition  to  the  bill  to  disappointed  ambition.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  every  object  of  ambition,  at  a  time  when  not  a 
cloud  darkened  his  prospects,  to  defeat  a  measure  he  believed  to  be  so  fraught 
with  mischief.  He  was  then  the  second  officer  in  the  government,  and  stood, 
without  opposition,  for  re-election  to  the  same  place,  on  the  ticket  of  General 
Jackson,  whose  success  was  then  certain ;  nor  was  there  any  other  man  in  the 
party  of  equal  prominence  and  popularity,  except  the  general  himself.  Nothing 
was  wanting  on  his  part  but  to  accommodate  himself  to  the  course  of  events, 
without  regard  to  their  effects  on  the  country,  to  have  attained  the  highest  office, 
which  lay  within  a  single  step  from  the  place  where  he  then  stood.  This  he 
could  not  but  plainly  see  ;  but  his  resisting  temptation  on  this  occasion  is  but 
one  instance  of  self-sacrifice  among  many  in  a  long  life,  the  whole  course  of 
which  abundantly  proves  that  office,  even  the  highest,  has  ever  been  with  him 
subordinate  to  his  sense  of  duty  and  the  public  welfare. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  85 

The  entire  South  was  justly  indignant  at  the  passage  of  so  unjust  and  oppress 
ive  a  measure,  especially  under  the  circumstances  which  attended  it,  and  the 
question  universally  asked  was,  What  is  to  be  done  ?  On  his  return  home  this 
question  was  often  and  emphatically  asked  him.  He  was  not  the  man  to  evade 
it.  He  frankly  replied  that  there  was  no  hope  from  Congress ;  that  in  both 
houses  there  were  fixed  majorities  in  favour  of  the  system,  and  that  there  was 
no  hope  of  any  speedy  change  for  the  better ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  things  must 
grow  worse,  if  no  efficient  remedy  should  be  applied.  He  said  that  he  could 
see  but  two  possible  remedies  within  the  limits  of  the  Constitution ;  one,  the 
election  of  General  Jackson,  who,  by  bringing  to  bear  systematically  and  steadily 
the  patronage  which  the  protective  system  placed  in  his  hands,  might  reduce 
the  duties  down  to  the  revenue  standard ;  and  the  other,  State  Interposition  or 
Veto,  the  high  remedy  pointed  out  in  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions  as 
the  proper  one,  after  all  others  had  failed,  against  oppressive  and  dangerous 
acts  of  the  general  government,  in  palpable  violation  of  the  Constitution.  He 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there  was  no  hope  from  the  judiciary,  and,  as  the 
act  stood,  the  constitutional  question  could  not  be  brought  before  the  courts,  the 
majority  having  refused  to  amend  the  title  of  the  bill  so  as  to  make  it  appear  on 
the  face  of  it  that  the  duties  were  laid  for  protection  and  not  for  revenue,  ex 
pressly  with  the  view  of  preventing  the  courts  from  taking  jurisdiction,  and  de 
ciding  on  its  constitutionality.  He  also  stated  that,  although  he  regarded  Gen 
eral  Jackson's  election  as  certain,  yet  he  was  constrained  to  say  that  the  cir 
cumstances  under  which  the  act  passed,  and  the  part  which  many  of  his  influ 
ential  supporters  took  in  its  passage,  made  it  doubtful  whether  the  hopes  enter 
tained  from  his  election  would,  as  it  regarded  the  protective  system,  be  realized, 
and  expressed  his  belief  that  South  Carolina  would  in  the  end  be  obliged  to  re 
sort  to  its  ultimate  constitutional  remedy  by  state  interposition,  and  the  ruinous 
consequences  which  must  inevitably  result  from  the  act  to  itself,  to  the  South, 
and  finally  to  the  whole  Union. 

Many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the  state  visited  Mr.  Calhoun  at  his  residence, 
near  the  mountains  in  South  Carolina,  during  the  summer  and  autumn  after  his 
return  from  Washington,  with  all  of  whom  he  conversed  freely,  and  expressed 
the  same  sentiments.  But  while  he  stated  his  conviction  of  the  necessity  of 
preparing  in  time  for  the  worst,  he  always  advised  that  there  should  be  no  pre 
cipitation,  nor  anything  done  to  endanger  the  election  of  General  Jackson,  nor, 
indeed,  afterward,  till  it  was  ascertained  whether  his  administration  would  cor 
rect  the  evil  before  the  public  debt  was  finally  discharged.  He  fixed  on  that  as 
the  period  for  invoking  the  high  authority  of  the  state,  as  one  of  the  sovereign 
parties  to  the  constitutional  compact,  to  arrest  the  evil,  not  only  because  he 
thought  that  ample  time  ought  to  be  allowed  to  see  if  anything  would  be  done, 
but  because  he  believed  that  so  long  as  the  money,  however  unjustly  and  uncon 
stitutionally  extorted  from  the  people  by  the  act  of  '28,  was  applied  to  the  pay 
ment  of  the  debt,  it  should  be  borne.  But  he  thought,  if  the  operation  of  the  act 
should  not  then  be  arrested  promptly,  the  vast  surplus  revenue  which  it  would 
afterward  pour  into  the  treasury  would  be  converted  into  the  means  of  perpetu 
ating  it,  and  fixing  the  system  on  the  country  permanently  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  any  constitutional  remedy. 

He  was  the  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  danger  from  what  had  already 
occurred.  A  leading  advocate  of  the  measure  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Dickerson,  of 
New- Jersey,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Manufactures,  and  since  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy,  had  already  moved  in  anticipation  of  the  payment  of  the 
debt,  and  with  the  view  of  strengthening  the  protective  system,  that  five  mill 
ions  of  dollars  should  annually  be  taken  from  the  treasury  and  divided  among 
the  states.  Such  a  proposition  could  not  fail  to  arouse  the  attention  and  appre 
hension  of  one  so  sagacious  and  vigilant  as  Mr.  Calhoun.  He  saw  at  once  the 
full  extent  of  the  danger.  No  measure  could  be  devised  more  insidious,  cor- 


38  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

rupting,  or  better  calculated  to  effect  the  object  contemplated.  The  money 
proposed  to  be  so  divided  would  never  return  to  the  pockets  of  the  tax-paying 
people  from  whom  it  was  first  taken.  It  would  go  to  the  State  Legislatures,  to 
be  disposed  of  as  they  should  think  proper,  and  would  constitute  a  fund,  in  the 
management  of  which  there  would  be  no  responsibility,  under  the  control  of 
the  majority  of  the  Legislature,  or,  rather,  of  the  few  leaders  of  the  majority  for  the 
time,  to  be  converted  by  them  into  means  of  power  and  emolument  for  themselves, 
through  their  partisans  and  friends.  The  necessary  effect  would  be,  that  the 
leaders  for  the  time  in  all  the  State  Legislatures,  even  of  those  most  injured 
by  the  system,  would  be  interested  in  its  favour ;  as  they,  and  their  friends  and 
partisans,  would  derive  more  from  the  administration  and  application  of  the  fund 
than  they  had  contributed  to  it,  as  tax-payers,  under  the  duties  from  which  it 
was  derived.  Seeing  these  consequences,  he  could  not  doubt  that,  if  the  meas 
ure  was  once  adopted,  it  would  absorb  in  its  vortex  the  whole  surplus  revenue 
after  the  discharge  of  the  debt,  and  unite  the  General  and  State  Governments 
in  support  of  a  universal  system  of  plunder.  Under  that  state  of  things,  he  be 
lieved  the  evil  would  become  remediless,  and  our  free  and  popular  institutions 
would  sink  into  a  mass  of  corruption.  With  this  impression,  he  used  his  ut 
most  influence  against  this  incipient  move.  It  was  defeated  for  the  time,  but 
not  without  deep  apprehension,  on  his  part,  that  it  would  revive  and  finally  pre 
vail,  unless  the  protective  policy,  from  which  this  monstrous  measure  derived 
its  origin  as  a  legitimate  offspring,  was  effectually  and  forever  destroyed.  It 
was  this  view  of  the  subject  that  so  strongly  impressed  him  with  the  necessity 
of  decisive  action,  should  the  coming  administration  fail  to  put  it  down,  and 
confirmed  him  in  the  belief  that  the  time  for  action  should  by  no  means  be  de 
layed  beyond  the  final  discharge  of  the  public  debt. 

So  deep  was  his  conviction  of  the  danger,  that  when  he  was  requested  fcy 
one  of  the  members  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  South  Carolina,  with  whtm 
he  had  conversed  freely  when  on  a  visit  to  him,  and  who  expected  to  be  on  the 
Committee  of  Federal  Relations,  to  give  him  his  views  on  the  subject,  he  did  n«t 
hesitate  to  draw  them  up  in  the  shape  of  a  report,  in  which  he  fully  expressed 
himself  as  to  the  disease,  the  danger,  and  remedy  ;  and,  regardless  of  popularity, 
he  gave  him  authority  to  state  who  was  its  author,  should  he  think  it  wtuld  be 
of  any  service.  The  paper  was  reported  by  the  committee  with  some,  though 
not  material  alterations.  Five  thousand  copies  were  ordered  by  the  Legisla 
ture  to  be  printed,  under  the  title  of  "  The  South  Carolina  Exposition  and  Pro 
test  on  the  subject  of  the  Tariff." 

But  while  the  Legislature  were  thus  preparing  to  arrest,  in  the  last  resort,  the 
obnoxious  act,  if  it  should  become  necessary,  they  showed,  at  the  same  time, 
their  continued  confidence  in  General  Jackson.  The  presidential  election  came 
on  at  the  same  session,  and  the  electors  who  were  appointed  by  the  Legislature 
gave  their  votes  to  General  Jackson  and  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  were  elected  by  a 
large  majority  of  the  whole  electoral  college. 

His  inaugural  address  was  received  with  enthusiasm  by  the  people  of  the 
state,  and  strong  hopes  were  entertained  that  their  expectations  upon  his  elec 
tion  would  be  fully  realized,  and  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  the  ultimate 
remedy  of  the  Constitution  avoided ;  but  his  first  message,  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  next  session,  went  far  to  extinguish  their  hopes. 

Here  we  reach  a  period  of  history  of  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  treat  with 
out  reviving  some  recollection  of  the  unfortunate  difference  which,  for  a  time, 
divided  the  Republican  party,  now  so  happily  united  fn  the  defence  of  their 
common  principles  and  of  constitutional  liberty.  But,  referring  to  the  past,  as 
we  shall  for  its  facts,  and  not  for  its  feelings,  we  shall  endeavour  to  give  so 
much  of  this  history  as  is  indispensable  to  an  explanation  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  con 
nexion  with  political  affairs,  as  it  will  hereafter  be  written  by  some  impartial 
hand — an  effort  which,  we  trust,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  great  actors 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  37 

of  that  day,  if  they  should  find  it  but  a  calm  and  dispassionate  review  of  those 
trying  and  eventful  scenes  in  which  they  bore  s|>  prominent  a  part.  To  sup 
pose  that  any  man  would  recfil  fr«m  the  truth  of  history  is  to  attribute  to  him 
the  meanest  and  most  unmanly  ff  f«|rs — an  injustice  which  no  motives  of  false 
delicacy  would  make  us  even  seem  to  offer  to  those  whom  we  respect  as  friends. 
In  discharging  our  duty  as  chroniclers,  we  shall  not  presume  to  decide  upor. 
the  merits  of  past  disputes,  as  our  immediate  object  may  be  accomplished  with 
out  entering  upon  that  delicate  ground.  In  stating  the  opinions  and  course  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  it  is  not  always  with  a  view  of  justifying  them,  and  we  may  dis 
approve  some  features  in  the  policy  of  President  Jackson  without  doubting  his 
motives,  or  disparaging  his  great  abilities  and  eminent  public  services.  Each 
of  these  great  men  is  too  deservedly  proud  of  the  past  to  wish  to  disguise  or 
conceal  any  portion  of  that  history  upon  which  he  rests  his  pretensions  for  fame  ; 
and  the  highest  evidence  of  a  noble  nature  is  that  candour  which  receives  truth 
without  offence  whenever  it  is  truthfully  told.  Now  that  the  fires  of  old  feuds 
have  burned  out,  and  the  excitement  of  the  time  has  passed  away,  we  doubt  not 
but  that  each  will  look  upon  the  past  without  passion  and  with  impartiality. 

But  to  resume  the  thread  of  our  narrative.  The  first  message  of  the  Presi 
dent,  in  December,  if  2$,  did  not  remove  the  apprehensions  which  heretofore 
had  weighed  so  heavily  upon  Mr.  Calhoun's  mind — apprehensions  which  then 
seemed  the  more  exaggerated  as  he,  perhaps,  was  the  only  man  of  the  time 
who  measured,  in  their  full  extent,  the  consequences  of  a  system  against  which 
he  was  destined  soon  to  peri^lns  all  in  deadly  strife.  One  of  the  paragraphs 
in  this  message  declares  thdff' "  After  the  extinction  of  the  public  debt,  it  is  not 
probable  that  any  adjustment  of  the  tariff,  upon  principles  satisfactory  to  the 
people  of  the  Union,  will,  until  a  remote  period,  if  ever,  leave  the  government 
without  a  considerable  surplus*  in  the  treasury  beyond  what  may  be  required 
for  its  current  service."  After  discussing  various  modes  of  applying  this  sur 
plus,  the  message  thus  again  proceeds  :  "  To  avoid  these  evils,  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  most  safe,  just,  and  federal  disposition  which  could  be  made  of  this  sur 
plus  revenue  would  be  its  apportionment  among  the  several  states,  according 
to  their  ratio  of  representation ;  and,  should  this  measure  not  be  found  warrant 
ed  by  the  Constitution,  that  it  would  be  expedient  to  propose  to  the  states  an 
amendment  authorizing  it."  These"  recommendations  were  not  calculated  to 
relieve  the  apprehensions  of  Mr.  Calhoun  as  to  the  danger  of  a  long  continuance 
of  the  protective  system  and  its  union  with  distribution ;  a  conjunction  which, 
of  all  others,  he  regarded  as  the  most  formidable  to  the  liberties  of  our  people 
and  the  permanence  of  their  free  institutions ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  they  con 
tributed  to  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  upon  the  people  of  South  Caro 
lina,  and  greatly  increased  their  efforts  to  disseminate  correct  information  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  evil,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  averting  it  by  the  separate 
action  of  the  state,  if  not  done  by  the  General  Government,  all  hope  of  which 
was  now  weilnigh  gone.  The  next  annual  message  recurred  to  the  same  topics. 
"  In  my  first  message,"  said  President  Jackson,  "  I  stated  it  to  be  my  opinion 
that  '  it  is  not  probable  that  any  adjustment  of  the  tariff,  upon  principles  satis 
factory  to  the  people  of  the  Union,  will,  until  a  remote  period,  if  ever,  leave  the 
government  without  a  considerable  surplus  in  the  treasury  beyond  what  may  be 
required  for  its  current  service.'  I  have  had  no  cause  to  change  that  opinion, 
but  much  to  confirm  it."  In  another  part  of  the  same  message  he  said,  "  Thus 
viewing  the  subject,  I  have  heretofore  felt  it  my  duty  to  recommend  the  adop 
tion  of  some  plan  for  the  distribution  of  the  surplus  funds,  which  may  at  any 
time  remain  in  the  treasury  after  the  national  debt  shall  have  been  paid,  among 
the  states,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  their  representatives,  to  be  applied  by 
them  to  objects  of  internal  improvement.  Although  this  plan  has  met  with  fa 
vour  in  some  portions  of  the  Union,  it  has  also  elicited  objections,  which  merit 
deliberate  consideration."  These  he  proceeded  to  state  and  answer  at  great 


38  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

length.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  systematic  movements  were  making  in 
the  leading  tariff  states  to  en/orce  this  policy  by  the  weight  of  their  influence. 
The  governors  of  New- York  and  Pennsylvania  followed  with  similar  recom 
mendations,  and  their  respective  legislatug^s  ^flopted  strong  resolutions  in  fa 
vour  of  the  scheme.  The  door  of  hope  from  without  seemed  to  be  wellnigh 
closed.  Unless  the  state  should  interpose  to  avert  this  system  by  her  separate 
action,  it  appeared  inevitable  that  the  tariff  of  1828,  that  "  bill  of  abominations," 
would  be  perpetuated  in  connexion  with  a  distribution  of  the  surplus  revenue 
after  the  payment  of  the  debt,  with  all  of  its  dangerous  and  corrupting  conse 
quences.  South  Carolina  did  not  hesitate  in  her  choice  between  these  alterna 
tives.  Everywhere  the  subject  of  state  remedies  wttS"agitated,  and  the  elec 
tions  throughout  the  state  turned  upon  that  deeply-exciting  and  important  ques 
tion. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  personal  relations  between  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  Presi 
dent  had  been  impaired  by  various  causes,  and  in  the  spring  of  1830  the  differ 
ence  became  serious  and  the  rupture  complete.  Separated  as  they  now  were 
upon  great  public  questions,  and  alienated  also  by  private  differences,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  President  should  have  directed  the  whole  weight  of 
his  immense  popularity  against  Mr.  Calhoun  ;  nor  hao*  tte  latter  any  resource 
in  the  opposition,  who,  separated  from*  him  in  principle  and  policy,  bore  down 
upon  him  with  their  whole  strength  and  influence.  These  things,  of  them 
selves,  seemed  to  constitute  difficulties  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  overpower 
him.  On  the  whole  expanse  of  the  wide  American  Continent,  there  were, 
perhaps,  but  two  spirits  that  could  have  encountered  them  ;  and  these,  strangely 
enough,  were  the  two  individuals  who  were  destined  to  conduct  the  two  parties 
in  the  tremendous  contest  that  was  approaching  But,  undaunted  at  the  pros 
pect,  and  strong  not  only  in  the  consciousness  ol  his  intellectual  resources,  but 
also  in  that  high  resolve  which  springs  from  a  deep  sense  of  wrong,  Mr.  Cal 
houn  fearlessly  assumed  the  responsibility  of  the  movement  in  the  great  issue 
which  South  Carolina  was  preparing  to  make  with  the  General  Government ; 
and,  in  obedience  to  the  calls  on  him  from  various  quarters,  he  unhesitatingly 
avowed  his  opinions  on  the  complex  and  difficult  questions  arising  out  of  it.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  situation  of  more  peril,  or  a  greater  example  of 
self-abandonment  and  moral  intrepidity. T  jETe  and  the  state  now  stood  alone  in 
open,  bold,  and  undaunted  resistance  against  the  scheme  of  a  permanent  distri 
bution  of  the  surplus  revenue,  sustained  by  a  perpetual  protective  tariff.  They 
were  assailed  with  equal  fierceness  by  the  administration  and  opposition  parties, 
and  they  were  deserted  by  all  the  Southern  states,  though  most  of  them  had 
adopted  the  strongest  resolutions,  declaring  the  tariff  of  '28  to  be  oppressive,  un 
just,  unequal,  and  unconstitutional,  and  pledging  themselves  in  the  most  posi 
tive  manner  to  oppose  it.^  Nothing  but  the  deepest  conviction  of  the  truth  and 
justice  of  their  cause,  and  of  the  magnitude  of  the  questions,  could  have  sus 
tained  him  under  such  difficulties,  and  in  the  face  of  so  imposing  a  force. 

He  commenced  the  address  containing  the  avowal  of  his  opinion  with  a  state 
ment  of  his  views  on  the  question  of  the  relation  which  the  states  bear  to  the 
General  Government.  After  referring  to  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions, 
the  Virginia  report  and  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  in 
the  case  of  Cobbett,  as  containing  a  summary  of  his  opinion,  he  said,  "  As  many 
might  not  have  an  opportunity  to  refer  to  them,  and  as  different  opinions  might 
be  entertained  as  to  their  meaning,  he  would,  to  avoid  all  ambiguity,  and  that 
his  sentiments  might  be  fully  known,  state  his  opinions  of  the  doctrine  which 
he  believed  they  embraced."  With  these  preliminary  remarks,  he  proceeded 
to  give,  in  the  first  place,  a  concise  summary  of  the  doctrines  they  embraced, 
and  in  the  next,  his  impression  of  the  character  and  tendency  of  these  doctrines, 
followed  up  by  a  calm,  lucid,  and  able  array  of  reasons  in  support  of  his  opin 
ion  ;  and,  finally,  brought  the  whole  to  bear  on  the  protective  system,  and  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  39 

dangers  to  which  it  exposed  our  political  institutions.  He  then  showed  that 
the  period  of  the  final  payment  of  the  debt  was  fast  approaching,  and  that,  if  the 
threatened  danger  was  not  promptly  met,  the  most  disastrous  consequences 
would  follow ;  and,  finally,  if  tte  government  itself  should  fail  to  meet  it,  state 

)  interposition  was  the  only  adequate  and  constitutional  rejnedy  which  could  ar 
rest  it.  The  folio  win  or  extract  from  this  manly  and  able  document  contains  the 
doctrines  of  state  interposition  or  nullification,  with  his  impression  of  its  char 
acter  and  tendency  : 

"  The  great  and  leading  principle  is,  that  the  General  Government  emanated 
from  the  people  of  the  several  states,  forming  distinct  political  communities,  and 
acting  in*l^ieir  separate  and  sovereign  capacity,  and  not  from  all  of  the  people 
forming  one  aggregate  political  community ;  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is,  in  fact,  a  compact,  to  which  each  state  is  a  party,  in  the  character  al 
ready  described ;  and  that  the  several  states  or  parties  have  a  right  to  judge 
of  its  infractions,  and,  in  case  of  a  deliberate,  palpable,  and  dangerous  exercise 
of  power  not  delegated,  they  have  the  right,  in  the  last  resort,  to  use  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Virginia  resolutions,  *  to  interpose  for  arresting  the  progress  of  the 
evil,  and  for  maintaining,  within  their  respective  limits,  the  authorities,  rights,  and 
liberties  appertaining 'to' them.1  This  right  of  interposition,  thus  solemnly  as 
serted  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  be  it  called  what  it  may,  state-right,  veto,  nulli 
fication,  or  by  any  other  name,  I  conceive  to  be  the  fundamental  principle  of 
our  system,  resting  on  facts  historically  as  certain  as  our  Revolution  itself,  and 
deductions  as  simple  and  demonstrative  as  that  of  any  political  or  moral  truth 
whatever ;  and  I  firmly  believe  that  on  its  recognition  depends  the  stability  and 
safety  of  our  political  institutions. 

"  I  am  not  ignorant  that  those  opposed  to  the  doctrine  have  always,  now  and 
formerly,  regarded  it  in  a  very*different  light,  as  anarchical  and  revolutionary. 
Could  I  believe  such  in  fact  to  be  its  tendency,  to  me  it  would  be  no  recom 
mendation.  I  yield  to  none,  I  trust,  in  a  deep  and  sincere  attachment  to  our 
political  institutions,  and  the  union  of  these  states.  I  never  breathed  an  oppo 
site  sentiment ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  ever  considered  them  the  great  in 
strument  of  preserving  our  liberty,  and  promoting  the  happiness  of  ourselves  and 
our  posterity ;  and,  next  to  these,  I  have  ever  held  them  most  dear.  Nearly 
half  my  life  has  passed  in  the  service  of  the  Union,  and  whatever  public  reputa 
tion  I  have  acquired  is  indissolubly  identified  with  it.  To  be  too  national  has, 
indeed,  been  considered  by  many,  even  of  my  friends,  to  be  my  greatest  political 
fault.  With  these  strong  feelings  of  attachment,  I  have  examined,  with  the  ut 
most  care,  the  bearing  of  the  doctrine  in  question ;  and  so  far  from  anarchical 
or  revolutionary,  I  solemnly  believe  it  to  be  the  only  solid  foundation  of  our  sys 
tem  and  of  the  Union  itself,  and  that  the  opposite  doctrine,  which  denies  to  the 
states  the  right  of  protecting  their  several  powers,  and  which  would  vest  in  the 
General  Government  (it  matters  not  through  what  department)  the  right  of  de 
termining,  exclusively  and  finally,  the  powers  delegated  to  it,  is  incompatible 
with  the  sovereignty  of  the  states  and  of  thp  Constitution  itself,  considered  as 
the  basis  of  a  Federal  Union.  As  string  as  this  language  is,  it  is  not  stronger 
than  that  used  by  the  illustrious  Jefferson,  who  said,  to  give  to  the  General  Gov 
ernment  the  final  and  exclusive  right  to  judge  of  its  powers,  is  to  make  '  its  dis 
cretion,  and  not  the  Constitution,  the  measure  of  its  powers  ;J  and  that  *  in  all 
cases  of  compact  between  parties  having  no  common  judge,  each  party  has  an  equal 
right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  of  the  infraction  as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of 
redress'  Language  cannot  be  more  explicit,  nor  can  higher  authority  be  ad 
duced. 

"  That  different  opinions  are  entertained  on  this  subject,  I  consider  but  as  an 
additional  evidence  of  the  great  diversity  of  the  human  intellect.  Had  not  able, 
experienced,  and  patriotic  individuals,  for  whom  I  have  the  highest  respect,  taken 
different  views,  I  should  have  thought  the  right  too  clear  to  admit  of  doubt ;  but 


40  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

I  am  taught  by  this,  as  well  as  by  many  similar  instances,  to  treat  with  deference 
opinions  differing  from  my  own.  The  error  may  possibly  be  with  me  ;  but,  if 
so,  I  can  only  say,  that  after  the  most  mature  and  conscientious  examination,  I 
have  not  been  able  to  detect  it.  But  with  ali^proper  deference,  I  must  think 
that  theirs  is  the  error  who  deny  what  seems  to  be  an  essential  attribute  of  the 
conceded  sovereignty  of  the  states,  and  who  attribute  to  die  General  Govern 
ment  a  right  utterly  incompatible  with  what  all  acknowledge  to  be  its  limited 
and  restricted  character ;  an  error  originating  principally,  as  I  think,  in  not  duly 
reflecting  on  the  nature  of  our  institutions,  and  on  what  constitutes  the  only  ra 
tional  object  of  all  political  constitutions." 

The  following  are  the  three  concluding  paragraphs,  which  will  exhibit  the 
tone  and  feeling  with  which  the  address  was  written. 

"  In  forming  the  opinions  I  have  expressed,  I  have  not  been  actuated  by  an 
unkind  feeling  to  our  manufacturing  interest.  I  now  am,  and  ever  have  been, 
decidedly  friendly  to  them,  though  I  cannot  concur  in  all  the  measures  which 
have  been  adopted  to  advance  them.  I  believe  considerations  higher  than  any 
question  of  mere  pecuniary  interest  forbid  their  use.  But,  subordinate  to  the 
higher  views  of  policy,  I  regard  the  advancement  of  mechanical  and  chemical 
improvements  in  the  arts  with  feelings  little  short  of  enthusiasm,  not  only  as  the 
prolific  source  of  national  and  individual  wealth,  but  as  the  great  means  of  en 
larging  the  domain  of  man  over  the  material  world,  and  thereby  of  laying  the 
solid  foundation  of  a  highly-improved  condition  of  society,  morally  and  politi 
cally.  I  fear  not  that  we  shall  extend  our  power  too  far  over  the  great  agents 
of  nature ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  consider  such  enlargement  of  our  power  as 
tending  more  certainly  and  powerfully  to  better  the  condition  of  our  race,  than 
any  one  of  the  many  powerful  causes  now  operating  to  that  result.  With  these 
impressions,  I  not  only  rejoice  at  the  general  progress  of  the  arts  in  the  world, 
but  on  their  advancement  in  our  own  country ;  and,  as  far  as  protection  may  be 
incidentally  afforded  in  the  fair  and  honest  exercise  of  our  constitutional  powers, 
I  think  now,  as  I  have  always  done,  that  sound  policy,  connected  with  the 
security,  independence,  and  peace  of  the  country,  requires  it  should  be  ;  but  we 
cannot  go  a  single  step  beyond  without  jeopardizing  our  peace,  our  harmony, 
and  our  liberty — considerations  of  infinitely  more  importance  to  us  than  any 
measure  of  mere  policy  can  possibly  be. 

"  In  thus  placing  my  opinion  before  the  public,  I  have  not  been  actuated 
by  the  expectation  of  changing  the  public  sentiment.  Such  a  motive  on  a  ques 
tion  so  long  agitated,  and  so  beset  with  feelings  of  prejudice  and  interest, 
would  argue,  on  my  part,  an  insufferable  vanity,  and  a  profound  ignorance  of  the 
human  heart.  To  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  imputation  of  either,  I  have 
confined  my  statement  on  the  many  and  important  points  on  which  I  have  been 
compelled  to  touch,  to  a  simple  declaration  of  my  opinion,  without  advancing 
any  other  reasons  to  sustain  them  than  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  indispen 
sable  to  the  full  understanding  of  my  views  ;  and  if  they  should,  on  any  point,  be 
thought  to  be  not  clearly  and  explicitly  developed,  it  will,  I  trust,  be  attributed 
to  my  solicitude  to  avoid  the  imputations  Jto  whjjch  I  have  alluded,  and  not  from 
any  desire  to  disguise  my  sentiments,  nor  the  want  of  arguments  and  illustra 
tions  to  maintain  positions  which  so  abound  in  both,  that  it  would  require  a 
volume  to  do  them  anything  like  justice.  I  can  only  hope  that  truths  which 
I  feel  assured  are  essentially  connected  with  all  we  ought  to  hold  most  dear, 
may  not  be  weakened  in  the  public  estimation  by  the  imperfect  manner  in  which 
I  have  been,  by  the  object  in  view,  compelled  to  present  them. 

"  With  every  caution  on  my  part,  I  dare  not  hope,  in  taking  the  step  I  have, 
to  escape  the  imputation  of  improper  motives,  though  I  have,  without  reserve, 
freely  expressed  my  opinions,  not  regarding  whether  they  might  or  might  not 
be  popular.  I  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  they  are  such  as  will  conciliate 
public  favour,  but  the  opposite,  which  I  greatly  regret,  as  I  have  ever  placed  a 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  41 

high  estimate  on  the  good  opinion  of  my  fellow-citizens.  But,  be  that  as  it  may, 
I  shall,  at  least,  be  sustained  by  feelings  of  conscious  rectitude.  I  have  formed 
my  opinions  after  the  most  careful  and  deliberate  examinations,  with  all  the  aids 
•which  my  reason  and  experience  could  furnish  ;  I  have  expressed  these  honestly 
and  fearlessly,  regardless  of  their  effects  personally,  which,  however  interesting 
to  me  individually,  are  of  too  little  importance  to  be  taken  into  the  estimate, 
where  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  our  country  are  so  vitally  involved." 

He  followed  uf,  the  next  year,  this  statement  of  his  opinion  by  a  letter*  ad 
dressed  to  Generi  Hamilton,  then  governor  of  the  state,  at  his  request,  in 
which  he  went  int%  the  same  subjects  more  fully,  and  with  additional  force  of 
argument  and  illustration.  They  both  did  much  to  enlighten  the  state  on  the 
subject  discussed,  anj  to  sustain  her  in  the  arduous  struggle  into  which  she 
was  preparing  t*  «nttr. 

In  the  mea%  time,  the  period  selected  for  final  and  decisive  action  was  rapidly 
approaching,  and  the  excitement  in  the  state  became  deeper  and  deeper.  A 
strong  party,  under  able  leaders,  had  risen  in  the  state  against  the  course  pro 
posed  to  be  taken.  They  admitted  the  tariff  to  be  unconstitutional  and  oppress 
ive,  but  disagreed  as  to  the  remedy,  which  they  regarded  as  revolutionary,  and 
not  warranted  by  the  Constitution.  They  assumed  the  popular  name  of  the 
Union  party.  The  whole  weight  of  the  General  Government  was  thrown  in 
their  favour.  The  two  parties  were  drawn  up  in  fierce  array  against  each 
other,  and  every  nerve  was  strained  on  each  side  to  gain  the  ascendency.  The 
whole  energy  and  talents  of  the  state  were  aroused,  and  the  people  were  inces 
santly  addressed  on  both  sides,  through  speeches,  pamphlets,  and  newspapers, 
by  the  ablest  men,  in  manly  and  eloquent  arguments,  making  direct  appeal  to 
their  understandings  and  patriotism,  on  all  the  questions  involved  in  the  issue. 

At  this  stage,  a  gleam  of  light  inspired  the  hope  that  the  necessity  of  resort 
ing  to  the  extreme  remedy  of  the  Constitution  would  be  unnecessary.  President 
Jackson,  in  his  message  to  Congress  at  the  opening  of  the  session  in  Decem 
ber.  1831,  omitting  for  the  first  time  all  allusion  to  the  scheme  of  distribution, 
announced  the  near  approach  of  the  period  when  the  public  debt  would  be 
finally  paid,  and  recommended  that  provision  should  be  made  for  the  reduction 
of  the  duties  and  the  relief  of  the  people  from  unnecessary  taxation,  after  the 
extinguishment  of  the  debt.  The  message  diffused  general  joy  throughout  the 
state.  It  was  believed  that  the  scheme  of  distribution  was  abandoned,  and 
was  hoped,  tate  as  it  was,  that  most  of  the  mischief  anticipated  from  the  surplus 
revenue,  by  a  prompt  and  judicious  reduction  of  the  duties,  might  be  still  avoid 
ed.  The  delegation  in  Congress  prepared  to  co-operate  zealously  with  the 
friends  of  the  administration  in  making  such  a  reduction  as  would  relieve  the 
people  from  unnecessary  taxation,  and  save  the  country  and  government  from 
the  worst  of  all  evils,  an  accumulating  and  corrupting  surplus,  collected  in  bank 
notes,  or,  what  was  the  same  thing,  bank  credit. 

But  this  gleam  of  sunshine  proved  transient  and  illusory.  It  soon  became 
apparent  that  neither  side,  administration  or  opposition,  contemplated  anything 
like  an  adequate  reduction.  In  spite  oi  every  effort  made  by  the  delegation,  and 
after  spending  the  greater  portion  of  the  session  on  the  subject,  an  inconsidera 
ble  reduction  of  some  three  or  four  millions  of  dollars  only  was  effected.  This 
still  left  a  revenue  more  than  twice  as  large  as  the  usual  and  necessary  expendi 
ture  of  the  government  would  require  after  the  payment  of  the  debt,  and  the  du 
ties  at  high  protective  rates,  on  what  were  called  the  protected  articles ;  and  as 
if,  too,  to  extinguish  all  hope,  this  trifling  reduction  was  announced  by  Mr.  Clay 
on  the  part  of  the  opposition,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  on  that  of  the 
administration,  as  the  final  adjustment  of  the  tariff,  and  the  permanent  system 
of  revenue,  after  the  payment  of  the  debt.  In  a  striking  particular,  the  act 
making  the  reduction  was  even  more  unequal  and  worse  than  the  tariff  of  '28. 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  4. 

F 


42  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

It  exempted  the  manufacturing  portion  of  the  community  almost  literally  from 
all  taxes.  It  gave  them  a  bounty  on  all  they  made  by  imposing  duties  on  all 
similar  articles  imported,  and  all  such  as  could  come  in  competition  with  what 
they  made,  while  it  exempted  them,  as  consumers,  from  paying  taxes  on  almost 
all  others,  by  admitting  them  duty  free  ;  so  that,  instead  of  abandoning  the  prin 
ciple  of  protection,  or  guarding  against  the  danger  of  a  surplus,  the  act  but  per 
petuated  the  protective  policy,  and  left  the  country  and  the  government  exposed 
to  all  the  evils  of  a  large  annual  surplus.  f 

Such  an  arrangement  could  not  induce  South  Carolina  to  surrender  the  stand 
she  had  taken.  On  the  contrary,  it  only  aroused  her  to  mo*  active  resistance, 
and  energetic  preparation  to  meet  an  issue,  which  now  feemed  almost  inevi 
table.  At  this  stage  an  incident  occurred  that  tended  <J-eatly  to  confirm  and 
animate  her  in  her  course.  *  •  t 

From  the  commencement,  the  State  Rights  party  had  claimed  tft  authority  of 
the  Virginia  Resolutions,  Mr.  Madison's  Report,  and  the  Kentucky  Resolutions, 
which  they  attributed  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  as  sanctioning  the  doctrine  of  nullification 
and  the  course  they  proposed  to  take,  while  those  who  opposed  denied  that  they 
authorized  the  interpretation  put  on  them,  or  that  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  author 
of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions.  It  became  a  point  of  great  importance  to  estab 
lish  which  of  the  two  were  right.  Both  sides  admitted  the  high  authority  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  and  that  the  report  and  resolutions  contained  the  true  political 
creed  of  the  party.  Mr.  Ritchie,  the  experienced  editor  of  the  Enquirer  and 
the  associate  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  most  of  the  distinguished  men  who  were  his 
contemporaries  in  Virginia,  was  among  the  most  influential  of  those  who  denied 
that  these  documents,  or  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  authorized  the  doctrine 
of  nullification.  But,  fortunately,  the  original  manuscript  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  from 
which  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  were  taken,  was  brought  to  light  at  this  criti 
cal  juncture,  and  left  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Jefferson  was  their  real  author,  and 
that  he  entertained  the  doctrines  of  nullification  to  the  full  extent,  as  interpreted 
by  the  State  Rights  party,  which  Mr.  Ritchie  had  the  candour  to  acknowledge, 
as  the  following  extract  from  the  Enquirer  of  March,  1832,  shows. 

From  the  Richmond  Enquirer,  March  13th. 

MR.  JEFFERSON  THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  KENTUCKY  RESOLUTIONS. 

"  Nullification — An  Error  corrected. — We  come  before  the  public  to  correct 
an  error  into  which  we  have  betrayed  them.  Some  of  the  politicians  of  South 
Carolina  had  maintained  the  opinion,  that  Mr.  Jefferson  was  not  only  the  friend, 
but  the  father  of  nullification ;  and  their  principal  argument  was,  that  he  was 
the  author  of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions  of  1799,  as  well  as  those  of  1798  ;  and 
that  in  those  of  1799  is  to  be  found  the  memorable  passage,  *  The  several 
states  which  formed  that  instrument,  being  sovereign  and  independent,  have  the 
unquestionable  right  to  judge  of  its  infraction ;  and  that  a  nullification  by  these 
sovereignties  of  all  unauthorized  acts,  done  under  colour  of  that  instrument,  is  the 
rightful  remedy.'  4 

"  We  had  a  great  curiosity  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  this  opinion.  We  hunted 
up  all  the  facts  that  were  within  our  reach,  weighed  them  as  impartially  as  we 
could,  and  we  arrived  at  a  different  conclusion  from  that  of  the  State  Rights 
politicians  of  South  Carolina.  We  expressed  our  opinions  in  the  '  Enquirer'  of 
the  13th  of  September  last. 

"  We  have  now  to  state  our  conviction  that  we  were  wrong,  and  the  South 
Carolinians  were  right  as  to  Mr.  Jefferson's  opinions.  A  small  MS.  book  has 
been  found  among  his  papers,  which,  with  other  articles,  contains  two  copies,  in 
his  own  handwriting,  that  appear  to  have  been  the  original  of  the  Kentucky  Reso 
lutions.  The  first  of  these  is  blurred  and  much  corrected,  with  passages  struck 
out  and  others  interlined.  The  other  is  a  fair  and  later  copy,  judging  from  the 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  43 

colour  of  the  paper  and  of  the  ink,  of  Mr.  J.'s  draught.  We  are  indebted  to  his 
grandson  for  the  permission  to  examine  these  MSS.,  and  compare  them  with  the 
printed  copies  of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions,  and  for  the  opportunity  of  correct 
ing  our  own  mistake,  and  of  laying  the  following  result  before  our  readers." 

Here  follows  Mr.  Jefferson's  original  draught  of  the  Kentucky  Resolutions. 

Never  was  a  document  more  clear  and  explicit  on  any  point  than  this  in  fa 
vour  of  the  principles  on  which  Carolina  had  placed  her  right  to  interpose. 
Words  could  not  make  it  more  so.  It  says  expressly,  "  That  in  all  cases  of  an 
abuse  of  delegated  powers,  the  members  of  the  General  Government  being 
chosen  by  the  people,  a  change  by  the  people  would  be  the  constitutional  rem 
edy  ;  but  where  powers  are  assumed  which  have  not  been  delegated,  a  NULLIFICATION 
of  the  act  is  the  RIGHTFUL  REMEDY  that  every  state  has  a  natural  right  to,  in  cases 
not  in  the  compact  (casus  non  fcederis),  to  nullify,  of  their  own  authority,  all  as 
sumptions  of  powers  within  their  limits  ;  that  without  this  right,  they  would  be 
under  the  absolute  and  unlimited  dominion  of  whoever  might  exercise  this  right 
of  judgment  for  them  ;  that,  nevertheless,  this  Commonwealth  (Kentucky),  from 
motives  of  regard  and  respect  for  its  co-states,  has  wished  to  communicate  with 
them  on  the  subject ;  that  with  them  alone  it  proposes  to  communicate,  they 
alone  being  parties  to  the  compact,  and  solely  authorized  to  judge,  in  the  last 
resort,  of  the  powers  exercised  under  it — Congress  being  not  a  party,  but  merely 
the  creature  of  the  compact,  and  subject,  as  to  its  assumption  of  its  powers,  to 
the  final  judgment  of  those  by  whom,  and  for  whose  use,  itself  and  its  powers 
were  created." 

So  fully  does  the  above  extract,  and  the  whole  draught,  in  fact,  accord  with 
the  views  taken  by  Mr.  Calhoun  in  the  statement  of  his  opinion,  and  letter  to 
General  Hamilton,  that,  had  it  been  possible  for  him  to  have  had  access  to  the 
manuscript,  he  might  well  have  been  suspected  of  plagiarism. 

Supported  by  this  high  and  explicit  authority,  the  State  Rights  party  moved 
forward  with  renovated  energy  and  confidence  in  preparing  for  the  great  issue  ; 
but  the  difficulties  were  great.  The  Union  party,  thoroughly  organized  under 
able  leaders,  and  animated  by  the  greatest  zeal,  were  supported  not  only  by  the 
whole  influence  of  the  General  Government,  but  sustained  and  cheered  by  the 
concurring  voice  of  both  parties,  and,  it  may  almost  be  literally  said,  of  the 
whole  Union.  Against  this  immense  resistance,  the  State  Rights  party  had  to 
obtain  a  majority  of  two  thirds  of  both  houses  of  the  Legislature  to  carry  out  its 
views,  as,  according  to  their  opinion,  the  right  of  a  state  to  declare  an  act  of 
Congress  unconstitutional,  and  therefore  null  and  void,  is  derived  from  the  fact 
that  the  Constitution  is  a  compact  to  which  the  people  of  the  states,  in  their  sover 
eign  capacity,  are  direct  parties ;  and,  of  course,  the  right  appertains  to  them  in  this 
capacity  only,  and  can  only  be  exercised  by  them,  through  a  convention,  in  the 
same  mode  that  the  instrument  was  adopted,  and  not  by  the  State  Government. 
They  regard  the  General  and  State  Governments  as  co-ordinate  governments,  and 
the  people  of  the  states,  severally,  as  the  paramount  sovereign  authority.  Accord 
ing  to  these  views,  in  order  to  take  the  final  step  it  would  be  necessary  to  call 
a  convention  of  the  people  of  the  state  ;  and  for  this  purpose,  by  a  provision  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  state,  two  thirds  of  the  Legislature  were  necessary  ;  with 
out  that  nothing  could  be  done,  and  the  cause  would  have  to  be  abandoned. 
The  election  was  pending,  and  the  great  struggle  between  the  parties  was,  on 
one  side,  to  carry  two  thirds  of  both  houses,  and  on  the  other  to  defeat  it.  The 
magnitude  of  the  issue  was  felt  by  both,  and  never  was  a  political  struggle  more 
ardent ;  and,  let  it  be  added  for  the  honour  of  both  parties  and  the  state,  never 
before,  in  such  a  struggle,  was  the  appeal  more  direct  and  solemn  to  the  intel 
ligence  and  patriotism  of  the  people,  and  so  free  from  all  false  issues,  cant,  or 
appeal  to  paseion  or  prejudice. 

It  resulted  in  the  triumph  of  the  State  Rights  p^trty.  They  returned  more 
than  the  constitutional  number  to  both  houses.  The  Legislature  met  and  called 


44  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

a  Convention,  which  assembled  and  passed  the  Ordinance  of  Nullification,  the 
24th  of  November,  1832,  accompanied  by  two  addresses  ;  one  to  the  people  of 
South  Carolina,  and  the  other  to  the  people  of  their  co-states  of  the  Union,  set 
ting  forth  fully  an  explanation  of  the  motives  and  principles  which  governed 
them  as  one  of  the  parties  to  the  constitutional  compact,  in  the  high  and  solemn 
act  of  sovereignty,  which  duty  to  themselves  and  to  the  Union  compelled  them 
to  perform.  They  adjourned  to  meet  in  March,  subsequent  to  the  period  at 
which,  by  the  Constitution,  the  approaching  session  of  Congress  would  ter 
minate. 

Congress  met  at  the  usual  period,  in  December,  and  the  President,  in  his  Mes 
sage,  announced  the  final  payment  of  the  public  debt,  and  recommended  a  re 
duction  of  the  duties  to  the  standard  required  for  the  revenue  of  the  government 
economically  and  efficiently  administered,  to  take  place  as  soon  as  the  faith  of 
the  government,  and  the  preservation  of  the  large  capital  invested  in  manufac 
turing  establishments,  would  permit. 

The  time  of  Governor  Hamilton  having  expired,  General  Hayne,  then  a  sen 
ator  in  Congress,  was  elected  his  successor,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  state  at  this  momentous  period.  The  proceedings  of  the  Con 
vention  were  reported  to  the  Legislature,  which  met  shortly  after  its  adjournment, 
and  an  act  introduced  and  passed  to  carry  into  effect  the  ordinance,  to  go  into 
operation  in  February.  That  was  followed  by  the  proclamation  of  the  President, 
which  asserted  that  the  ordinance  was  subversive  of  the  Constitution,  and  that 
the  object  of  South  Carolina  was  the  destruction  of  the  Union ;  and  after  giving 
his  views  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  provisions  of  the  existing  laws  applicable 
to  the  case,  and  declaring  the  course  he  would  pursue,  he  warned  all  the  peo 
ple  of  the  state  against  obedience  to  the  ordinance,  under  the  high  penalty  for 
treason  against  the  United  States.  Governor  Hayne  issued  his  counter  procla 
mation,  repelling  the  charges  of  the  President,  and  maintaining  the  grounds  taken 
by  the  Convention,  and  replying  to  the  reasons  assigned  for  the  grounds  taken 
in  the  President's  proclamation. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Including  the  Period  from  his  Resignation  of  the  Vice-presidency  till  the  Admission  of 
Michigan  into  the  Union. 

AT  this  critical  juncture,  the  Legislature  elected  Mr.  Calhoun  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  Senate  occasioned  by  the  election  of  General  Hayne  as  governor.  As 
trying  as  was  the  situation  under  such  circumstances,  he  resigned  without  hesita 
tion  his  place  as  Vice-president,  and  proceeded  to  Washington  to  take  his  seat 
in  the  Senate.  Never  was  there,  since  the  commencement  of  the  government, 
a  moment  of  more  intense  interest  and  anxiety  throughout  the  whole  Union,  and 
never  before  was  any  public  man  placed  in  a  situation  more  difficult  and  re 
sponsible.  The  expectation  was  general  that  he  would  be  arrested  as  soon  as 
he  arrived  in  Washington ;  and  on  his  way  thither,  wherever  he  stopped, 
crowds  collected  to  see  him.  Nor  was  the  excitement  less  when  he  arrived  at 
the  seat  of  government,  where  he  had  been  so  long  and  familiarly  known. 
When  he  appeared  in  the  Senate  to  take  his  seat  as  a  member  in  a  body  over 
which  he  had  so  long  and  recently  presided,  the  gallery  and  chamber  were 
thronged  with  spectators.  He  repeated  the  constitutional  oath  in  a  firm  and 
audible  voice,  and  took  his  seat  on  the  side  and  in  the  midst  of  his  old  political 
friends,  of  whom  a  large  majority  were  now  placed  in  hostile  array  to  him. 
But  as  trying  and  responsible  as  was  the  occasion,  he  stood  erect  and  unap- 
palled,  conscious  of  the  parity  of  his  motives,  and  strong  in  the  depth  of  his 
conviction  of  the  truth,  Justice,  constitutionality,  and  magnitude  of  the  question 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  45 

which  South  Carolina,  in  her  confidence,  had  selected  him  as  her  chosen  repre 
sentative  to  defend. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  a  few  days  after  he  took  his  seat,  in  order  to  bring  the  whole 
subject  under  the  early  consideration  of  the  Senate,  offered  a  resolution,  calling 
upon  the  President  to  lay  before  the  body  the  ordinance  and  other  documents 
connected  with  it,  which  had  been  transmitted  to  him  by  the  executive  of  the 
state  ;  but  he  forbore  to  press  its  adoption,  on  the  statement  of  Mr.  Grundy, 
that  there  was  reason  to  believe  the  President  was  preparing  a  message  on  the 
subject,  which  would  be  accompanied  by  the  documents  requested,  and  that  the 
message  would  probably  be  sent  the  day  after  the  next.  Not  expecting  any 
thing  of  importance  the  next  day,  Mr.  Calhoun  delayed  some  time  after  the 
usual  meeting  of  the  body  to  take  his  seat.  When  he  entered  the  chamber,  he 
was  surprised  to  find  it  crowded,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate  in  the  midst 
of  reading  the  message,  which  he  did  not  expect  until  the  next  day.  It  took 
strong  ground  against  South  Carolina,  and  recommended  the  adoption  of  the 
most  decisive  measures  to  coerce  her  obedience. 

It  was  a  trying  moment.  He  had  not  the  slightest  anticipation  that  he  would 
be  called  on  to  say  anything  when  he  entered  the  chamber,  and  was  wholly 
unprepared  ;  and,  to  add  to  his  embarrassment,  he  had,  for  the  long  period  of 
fifteen  years  (while  he  filled  the  war  department  and  the  place  of  Vice-presi 
dent),  been  entirely  out  of  the  habit  of  public  speaking.  Nor  could  he  avoid 
speaking,  as  it  would  look  like  shrinking  not  to  give  an  immediate  reply  to  the 
message.  Under  all  these  trying  circumstances,  he  rose  as  soon  as  the  reading 
was  over,  and  replied,  in  a  manly  and  effective  speech,  to  the  ground  taken  in 
the  message.  After  he  concluded,  the  message  and  documents  were  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  of  which  Mr.  Grundy  was  chairman  and  Mr. 
Webster  a  prominent  member.  They  reported  a  bill,  extending  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  courts  of  the  United  States  greatly  and  beyond  all  former  acts,  and  cloth 
ing  the  President  with  almost  unlimited  powers,  both  as  to  men  and  money. 

In  order  to  have  a  preliminary  discussion,  and  to  take  the  sense  of  the  Sen 
ate  on  the  principles  involved  in  the  issue,  before  the  bill  was  called  up,  Mr. 
Calhoun  prepared  and  moved  the  three  following  resolutions,  which  affirmed 
the  grounds  on  which  South  Cgrflin*  placed  her  right,  on  the  one  side,  and 
negatived,  on  the  other,  those  assumed  in  the  proclamation  and  message. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  the  several  states  composing  these  United 
States  are  united  as  parties  to  a  constitutional  compact,  to  which  the  people  of 
each  state  acceded  as  a  separate  and  sovereign  community,  each  binding  itself, 
by  its  own  particular  ratification ;  and  that  the  Union,  of  which  the  said  com 
pact  is  the  bond,  is  a  Union  between  the  states  ratifying  the  same. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  the  several  states,  thus  united  by  a  constitu 
tional  compact,  in  forming  that  instrument,  in  creating  a  General  Government 
to  carry  into  effect  the  objects  for  which  it  was  formed,  delegated  to  that  gov 
ernment,  for  that  purpose,  certain  definite  powers,  to  be  exercised  jointly,  re 
serving,  at  the  same  time,  each  state  to  itself,  the  residuary  mass  of  powers,  to 
lie  exercised  by  its  own  separate  government ;  anil  that,  whenever  the  General 
Government  assumes  the  exercise  of  powers  ntt  delegated  by  the  compact,  its 
acts  are  unauthorized,  void,  and  of  n|  effect ;  and  that  the  said  government  is 
not  made  the  final  judge  of  the  powers  delegated  to  it,  since  that  would  make 
its  Discretion,  and  not  the  Constitution,  the  measure  of  its  powers  ;  but  that,  as 
in  all  other  cases  of  compact  amonj  sovereign  parties,  without  any  common 
judge,  each  has  an  equal  right  to  judge  for  itself,  as  well  of  the  infraction  as  of 
the  mode  and  measure  of  redress. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  assertions,  that  the  people  of  these  United  States,  taken 
collectively  as  individuals,  are  now,  or  ever  have  been,  united  on  the  principle 
of  the  social  compact,  and,  as  such,  are  now  formed  into  one  nation  or  people , 
or  that  they  have  ever  been  so  united  in  any  one  stage  of  their  political  exist- 


46  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

ence ;  or  that  the  people  of  the  several  states  comprising  the  Union  have  not, 
as  members  thereof,  retained  their  sovereignty ;  or  that  the  allegiance  of  their 
citizens  has  been  transferred  to  the  General  Government ;  or  that  they  have 
parted  with  the  right  of  punishing  treason  through  their  respective  state  gov 
ernments  ;  or  that  they  have  not  the  right  of  judging,  in  the  last  resort,  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  powers  reserved,  and,  of  consequence,  of  those  delegated,  are  not 
only  without  foundation  in  truth,  but  are  contrary  to  the  most  certain  and  plain 
historical  facts,  and  the  clearest  deductions  of  reason ;  and  that  all  exercise  of 
power  on  the  part  of  the  General  Government,  or  any  of  its  departments,  de 
riving  authority  from  such  erroneous  assumptions,  must  of  necessity  be  uncon 
stitutional  ;  must  tend  directly  and  inevitably  to  subvert  the  sovereignty  of  the 
states,  to  destroy  the  federal  character  of  the  Union,  and  to  rear  on  its  ruins  a 
consolidated  government,  without  constitutional  check  or  limitation,  and  which 
must  necessarily  terminate  in  the  loss  of  liberty  itself." 

It  is  obvious,  on  the  perusal,  that  if  the  principles  offered  by  the  resolutions 
be  true,  South  Carolina  would  stand  justified ;  and  if  those  negatived  be  false, 
the  bill  could  not  be  rightfully  sustained ;  and  such  being  the  case,  it  was  but 
fair  that  the  principles  should  be  settled  prior  to  the  discussion  and  action  on 
the  bill.  But  as  reasonable  as  was  the  request  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  Senate, 
under  the  influence  of  the  committee,  laid  his  resolutions  on  the  table,  and  took 
up  the  bill  for  discussion.  The  debate  was  very  able  on  both  sides.  Many  of 
the  old  and  sound  Republicans,  refusing  to  yield  their  long-cherished  principles 
to  party  feelings  or  considerations,  opposed  the  bill  with  great  ability  and  vigour. 
Mr.  Grundy,  as  chairman,  claimed  the  right  of  closing  the  debate,  and  Mr.  Cal 
houn  reserved  himself  to  reply  to  Mr.  Webster,  who  was  the  great  champion  of 
the  bill ;  but  he  was  informed,  through  one  of  Mr.  Webster's  friends,  that  he 
would  not  speak  before  him.  This  left  him  no  option,  as  he  could  not  avoid 
speaking,  and  had  therefore  to  submit.  He  spoke  late,*  and  conjecturing  that  Mr. 
Webster  intended  to  speak  to  the  principles  involved,  and  not  to  the  provisions 
of  the  bill,  he  spoke  at  large  on  a  variety  of  points,  which  he  thought  required 
explanation  in  connexion  with  the  course  of  South  Carolina,  and  but  slightly 
touched  on  the  principles  which  he  had  affirmed  or  negatived  in  his  resolutions, 
in  order  to  deprive  Mr.  Webster  of  the J  advantages  he  aimed  at  in  reserving 
himself  for  the  reply.  He  was  right  in  his  conjecture.  The  moment  he  sat 
down,  Mr.  Webster  rose  to  reply,  but  spoke,  as  he  anticipated,  not  on  the  bill, 
but  to  the  resolutions,  without  assailing  or  controverting  any  of  the  positions 
taken  by  Mr.  C.  in  his  speech.  This  gave  him  a  claim  to  be  heard  on  his 
resolutions  ;  and  the  Senate  accordingly  permitted  him  to  call  them  up,  and  as 
signed  a  day  in  order  to  give  him  ar^  opportunity  of  replying  to  Mr.  Webster  in 
their  support. 

When  the  day  came  the  senate-chamber  and  gallery  were  crowded,  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  replied  in  a  speechf  which,  for  precision  and  force  of  argument,  has 
rarely,  if  ever,  been  equalled.  Th^  great  point  at  issue  was,  whether  the  Con 
stitution  is  or  is  not  a  compact  between  the  States.  Mr.  Webster,  with  that 
strength  of  understanding  wjiich  belongs  to  him,  saw  clearly  where  the  reat 
issue  lay,  and  had  the  fairness  and  candour  to  concede  that  if,  in  fact,  the  Cdh- 
stitution  is  a  compact  between  the  States^  then  the  doctrines  contended  for  by 
South  Carolina  necessarily  followed,  nullification,  secession,  and  all.  Mr.  Cal 
houn,  accordingly,  mainly  directed  his  efforts  to  establishing  the  fact,  and  ^ith 
such  success,  that  even  the  North  American  Quarterly  Review,  published  in 
Boston,  and  at  all  times  the  champion|Of  me  principles  supported  by  Mr.  Web 
ster,  in  an  article  reviewing  the  debate,  admitted  that  Mr.  Calhoun  had  success 
fully  maintained  his  ground  on  that  point.  Mr.  Randolph,  then  in  a  feeble  state 
of  health,  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  was  present  in  the  senate-chamber,  it  is 
believed  for  the  last  time,  when  Mr.  Calhoun  spoke.  He  sat  near  the  desk 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  5.  t  See  «  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  6. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  47 

where  Mr.  C.  stood  while  addressing  the  Senate,  and  at  the  close  openly  and 
highly  complimented  him  for  the  ability  and  success  of  his  reply,  which  he  re 
garded  as  unanswerable. 

The  bill  passed,  but  while  it  was  in  progress,  efforts  were  made  in  both  Houses 
so  to  modify  the  duties  as  to  terminate  the  controversy  peaceably.  Upon 
faith  in  these  efforts,  South  Carolina  postponed  the  time  for  carrying  into  effect 
her  ordinance,  from  the  first  of  February  till  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress 
on  the  fourth  of  March.  Mr.  Verplanck,  in  the  early  part  of  the  session,  had 
reported  a  bill  in  conformity  with  the  message  of  the  President  at  the  opening 
of  the  session,  proposing  a  very  great  reduction  of  the  duties,  but  without  sur 
rendering  the  principle  of  protection,  or,  in  many  instances,  reducing  the  duties 
to  the  revenue  standard.  Its  progress  was  slow.  It  was  detained  a  long  time 
in  committee  of  the  whole,  where  many  amendments,  increasing  the  duties, 
were  made.  After  it  was  reported  to  the  House,  it  continued  to  drag  along  with 
difficulty.  Many  of  the  objectionable  amendments  made  in  the  committee  of 
the  whole  were  concurred  in,  and  the  fate  of  the  bill  still  continued  doubtful, 
notwithstanding  the  steady  and  united  support  which  it  received  from  the  State 
Rights  party,  objectionable  as  it  was  in  many  particulars.  Their  support  was 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  division  in  the  ranks  of  the  administration 
party. 

In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Clay  introduced  a  bill  in  the  Senate,  which  received 
the  sanction  of  that  body,  and  was  sent  to  the  House,  where  Mr.  Verplanck's 
bill  still  lingered  near  the  end  of  the  session.  It  was  moved  as  a  substitute  to 
his  bill,  and  carried  by  a  large  majority  ;  Mr.  Verplanck  himself,  and  the  lead 
ing  friends  of  the  administration  who  supported  his  bill,  voting  for  it  in  despair, 
as  it  is  believed,  of  the  passage  of  his  own.  It  received  the  sanction  of  the 
President,  and  has  since  been  called  the  Compromise  Act ;  and  thus  terminated 
this  controversy,  the  most  agitating  and  memorable  that  ever  occurred  under  the 
government. 

It  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  go  into  the  origin  or  history  of  the  act,  or  mi 
nutely  into  its  provisions.  The  former  have  been  given  several  times  by  Mr. 
Clay  and  Mr.  Calhoun  in  their  places  in  the  Senate,  and  are  generally  known. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Mr.  Calhoun,  from  the  commencement,  refused  to  go 
into  any  arrangement  which  did  not  explicitly  surrender  the  principle  of  pro 
tection,  but  was  willing  to  allow  ample  time  for  the  gradual  reduction  of  the 
duties  on  the  protected  articles,  in  order  to  save  the  manufacturers  from  ruin ; 
but  he  insisted  on  a  tota]  repeal  at  once  on  all  unprotected  articles,  in  order  to 
prevent,  if  possible,  the  great  object  of  his  dread  from  the  first,  a  surplus  rev 
enue.  Mr.  Clay  was,  of  course,  on  his  part,  solicito'iis,  in  making  the  changes 
necessary  to  a  compromise,  to  give  as  slight  a  shock  as  possible  to  his  long- 
cherished  system.  The  result  was  the  surrender  of  the  protective  principle 
and  the  establishment  of  the  ad  valorem,  and  a  gradual  reduction  of  duties  on 
all  protected  articles,  to  terminate  on  the  thirtieth  of  June,  1842,  when  no  duty 
above  20  per  cent,  ad  valorem  should  be  lam ;  the  immediate  repeal  of  all  du 
ties  on  articles  not  similar  to  those  manufactured  in  the  country,  and  a  moderate 
lisf  of  articles  to  be  made  permanently  free  of  duty  after  the  thirtieth  of  June, 
1842,  with  provisions  for  cash  duties,  and  home  valuation.  Such  are  the  gen 
eral  outlines  of  the  provisions  of  the  a.ct  which  peaceably  closed  the  controver 
sy  ;  and  if  faith  and  pledges  had  been  observed  with  as  much  fidelity  on  the 
side  of  the  tariff  interest  as  it  has  been  on  the  part  of  the  opposite  side,  the  pos 
sibility  of  its  renewal  would  have  forgvefbeen  prevented. 

^yhatever  opinion  may  have  been  entertained  at  one  time  of  the  views  and 
motives  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  the  small  but  gallant  party  with  which  he  acted, 
none  now,  not  even  the  most  prejudiced,  doubts  the  purity  and  patriotism  of  his 
and  their  motives,  however  much  they  may  differ  from  them  as  to  principles  and 
policy.  So  far  from  hostility  to  the  Union,  one  of  the  leading  objects  was  its 


48  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

preservation.  The  Union  may  be  destroyed  as  well  by  consolidation  as  by  dis 
solution — by  the  centripetal  as  well  as  the  centrifugal  tendency  of  the  bodies  of 
which  it  is  composed.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  patriot  to  resist  both,  and  hold  the 
government  firmly  to  its  allotted  sphere.  Against  the  former,  state  interposition 
is  an  all-sufficient  remedy,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  whether  experience  will 
not  prove  that  it  is  an  indispensable  one.  It  was,  at  least,  so  considered  by  the 
State  of  South  Carolina,  and  that  was  one  of  the  principal  motives  for  resorting  to 
it.  Nor  does  it  admit  of  a  doubt  but  that  her  action  did  much  to  counteract  the 
consolidating  tendency  of  the  Government.  Had  she  not  taken  the  stand  she 
did,  in  all  probability  the  distribution  of  the  surplus  revenue  among  the  states 
and  the  protective  policy  would  have  become  the  established  system  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  The  scheme  of  distribution  is  almost  a  necessary  consequence  of  that 
policy.  They  are  most  intimately  connected,  as  the  experience  of  the  last  few 
years  shows,  even  with  art  empty  treasury.  With  one  full  to  overflowing,  as  was 
the  case  when  the  debt  was  paid  and  the  state  interposed,  it  was  almost,  if  not  al 
together  unavoidable,  without  state  interposition.  That  the  protective  tariff  would 
not  have  been  overthrown  without  it,  the  inconsiderable  reduction  of  1832,  and 
the  fate  of  Mr.  Verplanck's  bill,  notwithstanding  all  the  pressing  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  introduced  and  attempted  to  be  passed,  conclusively  prove ; 
and  that  it  could  not  have  been  overthrown  if  the  two,  distribution  and  protec 
tion,  had  become  united,  may  be  fairly  inferred.  They  would  then  have  been 
beyond  the  reach  of  all  ordinary  and  constitutional  remedies,  when  either  con 
solidation  or  despotism  would  have  been  the  end  of  our  political  system. 

But  how  different  now  is  the  situation  of  the  government  and  the  country  in 
consequence  of  the  course  pursued.  When  the  state  first  took  its  stand,  the 
very  existence  of  states'  rights  was  almost  forgotten  in  the  Union.  The  party 
had  greatly  departed  from  the  old  standard  of  its  faith  both  in  theory  and  prac 
tice,  and  had  imperceptibly  embraced,  to  a  great  extent,  the  doctrines  and  policy 
of  its  opponents.  If  proof  be  required,  the  proclamation,  the  message  recom 
mending  the  Force  Bill,  the  bill  itself,  and  the  arguments  by  which  it  was  sup 
ported,  afford  conclusive  evidence.  That  a  great  and  cheering  change  has 
since  taken  place,  all  must  admit ;  and  that  it  may  be  attributed,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  say  the  least,  to  the  stand  taken  by  South  Carolina,  cannot  well 
be  doubted. 

It  was  expected  that,  among  its  other  benefits,  it  had  put  an  end  forever  to 
the  protective  policy,  but  the  act  of  the  last  session  has  proved  to  the  contrary. 
It  is,  however,  to  be  hoped  that  the  wound  it  has  received  will  yet  prove  to  be 
its  death-blow,  and  that  the  act  of  the  last  session  will  be  but  a  last  spasmodic 
struggle  preceding  its  fin&l  dissolution.  Great  has  been  the  progress  of  truth 
in  reference  to  this  policy,  both  as  to  its  character  and  operation,  since  the  stand 
taken  by  South  Carolina.  That  it  is  unjust,  unequal,  oppressive,  and  unconstitu 
tional,  the  great  body  of  the  Democratic  party  are  now  agreed,  and,  being  agreed, 
they  can  never  cease  their  determined  resistance  to  it  until  it  is  finally  overthrown, 
without  (what  cannot  be  anticipafed)  an  abandonment  of  their  political  faith. 

Such  is  a  sketch  of  this  important  par.t  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  public  life.  As  long 
as  it  is,  not  a  word  has  been  added  wh^ch  was  not  regarded  as  necessary  to  a 
just  understanding  of  his  motives  and  conduct,  in  the  most  trying  scene  through 
which  it  has  been  his  fortune  to  pass. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  third  of  March,  and  he  proceeded  by  public  con 
veyance  to  Columbia  to  meet  the  Convention,  which  was  to  reassemble  in  a 
few  days.  The  spring  was  unusuallj  coid  and  backward.  The  snow  lay  sev 
eral  inches  deep  on  the  ground,  an*  the  Potomac  was  frozen.  He  took  the 
stage  at  Alexandria,  but  the  roads  were  so  broken  up  in  consequence  of  the 
frost  that  he  had  to  take  open  mail-carts,  in  which  he  rode  night  and  day  with 
out  stopping,  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  way,  in  order  to  reach  Columbia 
in  time.  He  found  the  members  of  the  Convention  assembled.  Knowing  how 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  49 

firm  and  resolved  the  state  was  to  maintain  its  rights,  he  anticipated  some  dis 
satisfaction  at  the  compromise,  which  had  induced  him  to  proceed  with  the 
speed  which  he  used.  He  was  not  mistaken  ;  but,  on  explaining  fully  what 
had  been  done,  and  the  reasons  on  which  he  and  his  colleague  had  acted,  the 
Convention  readily  acquiesced  in  the  adjustment.  Let  it  be  added,  in  conclu 
sion,  that  the  earliest  opportunity  was  seized  by  both  parties  in  the  state,  at  the 
next  session  of  the  Legislature,  after  the  closing  of  the  controversy  with  the 
General  Government,  to  meet  like  friends,  and  agree  to  disband  their  party  or 
ganization,  and  forget  their  past  differences,  which  both  sides,  to  their  lasting 
honour,  have  faithfully  and  honestly  observed.  The  consequence  of  so  patri 
otic  and  magnanimous  a  course  has  been  a  degree  of  harmony  and  unanimity  in 
the  state  ever  since,  without  example  in  any  other  member  of  the  Confederacy. 

This  great  subject  of  controversy  was  thus  happily  closed  in  the  Union  and  the 
State  of  South  Carolina ;  but  the  recess  between  the  last  and  the  next  session 
was  not  permitted  to  pass  without  giving  birth  to  another  question  of  deep  and 
abiding  excitement :  the  withholding  of  the  deposites  of  the  public  money  from 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  and  their  transfer,  by  the  authority  of  the  President, 
to  certain  state  banks,  selected  for  the  purpose.  To  effect  his  object,  he  had  re 
moved  Mr.  Duane  for  declining  to  comply  with  his  order,  and  appointed  Mr. 
Taney  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  his  place,  in  order  to  have  it  executed. 
The  bank  was  made  by  its  charter  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  government  for  the 
collection,  distribution,  and  safe  keeping  of  the  public  funds,  unless  otherwise 
ordered  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  in  that  case  it  was  provided  he 
should  report  to  Congress,  if  in  session,  immediately,  and  if  not,  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  next  session,  his  reasons  for  so  doing.  For  that  and  other 
privileges,  the  bank  paid  a  bonus  for  the  charter  of  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  President  communicated  the  fact  of  the  removal  of  the 
deposites  in  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  next  session,  with  his  reasons, 
which  were  repeated  and  enlarged  on  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  his 
Annual  Report. 

The  subject  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  animated  discussion  between  the  two 
great  parties,  both  as  to  the  right  and  expediency  of  the  measure.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  was  not  regarded  as  attached  to  either,  and  much  interest  was  felt  in  the 
course  he  might  take.  He  spoke  first,  and  in  a  speech*  distinguished  for  its 
ability,  admitted  the  right  of  the  President  to  remove  his  secretary,  though  he 
regarded  it,  under  the  circumstances,  an  abuse  of  power ;  but  denied  not  only 
the  right  of  the  secretary  to  withhold  the  deposites  so  long^as  tfte  funds,  were 
safe  and  the  bank  performed  faithfully  its  duties  as  a  fiscal  agent,'  but  also  the 
expediency  of  the  act.  But  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  these  points.  He 
saw,  at  that  early  period,  the  radical  defects  of  the  banking  system,  and  he  re 
solved,  though  he  disapproved  of  the  act  of  the  executive,  that  his  position 
should  not  hereafter  be  mistaken  as  tha£  of  a  partisan  of  the  bank  or  the  bank 
ing  system.  With  that  view,  after  discussing  the  questions  immediately  con 
nected  with  the  withholding  of  the  deposites,  and  some  other  intermediate  ones, 
he  added : 

"  Nor  is  it  more  true  that  the  real  question  is  *  Bank  or  no  Bank.'  Taking 
the  deposite  question  in  the  broadest  sense  ;  suppose,  as  it  is  contended  by  the 
friends  of  the  administration,  that  it  involves  the  question  of  the  renewal  of  the 
charter,  and,  consequently,  the  existence  of  the  bank  itself,  still  the  banking 
system  would  stand  almost  untouched  and  unimpaired.  Four  hundred  banks 
would  still  remain  scattered  over  this  wide  Republic,  and  on  the  ruins  of  the 
United  States  Bank  many  would  rise  to  be  added  to  the  present  list.  Under 
this  aspect  of  the  subject,  the  only  possible  question  that  would  be  presented 
for  consideration  would  be,  Whether  the  banking  system  was  more  safe,  more 
beneficial,  or  more  constitutional  with  or  without  the  United  States  Bank?' 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  7. 

G 


50  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

"  If,"  said  Mr.  C.,  "  this  was  a  question  of  '  Bank  or  no  Bank' — if  it  involved 
the  existence  of  the  banking  system,  it  would,  indeed,  be  a  great  question — one 
of  the  first  magnitude  ;  and,  with  my  present  impression,  long  entertained  and 
daily  increasing,  I  would  hesitate — long  hesitate — before  I  would  be  found  un 
der  the  banner  of  the  system.  I  have  great  doubts,  if  doubts  they  may  be  call 
ed,  as  to  the  soundness  and  tendency  of  the  whole  system,  in  all  its  modifica 
tions.  I  have  great  fears  that  it  will  be  found  hostile  to  liberty  and  the  advance 
of  civilization — fatally  hostile  to  liberty  in  our  country,  where  the  system  exists 
in  its  worst  and  most  dangerous  form.  Of  all  institutions  affecting  the  great 
question  of  the  distribution  of  wealth — a  question  least  explored,  and  the  most 
important  of  any  in  the  whole  range  of  political  economy — the  banking  institu 
tion  has,  if  not  the  greatest,  one  of  the  greatest,  and,  'I  fear,  most  pernicious  in 
fluence  on  the  mode  of  distribution.  Were  the  question  really  before  us,  I 
would  not  shun  the  responsibility,  as  great  as  it  might  be,  of  freely  and  fully 
offering  my  sentiments  on  these  deeply-important  points ;  but  as  it  is,  I  must 
content  myself  with  the  few  remarks  which  I  have  thrown  out." 

"  What,  then,  is  the  real  question  which  now  agitates  the  country  ?  I  an 
swer,  it  is  a  struggle  between  the  executive  and  legislative  departments  of  the 
government ;  a  struggle,  not  in  relation  to  the  existence  of  the  Bank,  but  wheth 
er  Congress  or  the  President  should  have  the  power  to  create  a  bank,  and, 
through  it,  the  consequent  control  over  the  currency  of  the  country.  This  is 
the  real  question.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  This  league,  this  association, 
vivified  and  sustained  by  receiving  the  deposites  of  the  public  money,  and  hav 
ing  their  notes  converted,  by  being  received  everywhere  by  the  treasury,  into 
the  common  currency  of  the  country,  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  bank  of 
the  United  States — the  executive  bank  of  the  United  States,  as  distinguished 
from  that  of  Congress.  However  it  might  fail  to  perform  satisfactorily  the  use 
ful  functions  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  as  incorporated  by  law,  it  would 
outstrip  it — far  outstrip  it — in  all  its  dangerous  qualities,  in  extending  the  pow 
er,  the  influence,  and  the  corruption  of  the  government.  It  was  impossible  to 
conceive  any  institution  more  admirably  calculated  to  advance  these  objects. 
Not  only  the  selected  banks,  but  the  whole  banking  institutions  of  the  country, 
and  with  it  the  entire  money  power,  for  the  purpose  of  speculation,  peculation, 
and  corruption,  would  be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  executive.  A  system 
of  menaces  and  promises  will  be  established :  of  menace  to  the  banks  in  pos 
session  of  the  deposites,  but  which  might  not  be  entirely  subservient  to  execu 
tive  views,  and  of  promise  of  future  favours  to  those  who  may  not  as  yet  enjoy 
its  favours.  Between  the  two,  the  banks  would  be  left  without  honour  or  hon 
esty,  and  a  system  of  speculation  and  stock-jobbing  would  commence,  unequal 
led  in  the  annals  of  our  country." 

Again  :  "  So  long  as  the  question  is  one  between  a  bank  of  the  United  States 
incorporated  by  Congrefes,  and  that  system  of  banks  which  has  been  created  by 
the  will  of  the  executive,  it  is  an  insult  to  the  understanding  to  discourse  on  the 
pernicious  tendency  and  unconstitutionality  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States. 
To  bring  up  that  question  fairly  and  legitimately,  you  must  go  one  step  farther  : 
you  must  divorce  the  government  and  the  bank.  You  must  refuse  all  connexion 
with  banks.  You  must  neither  receive,  nor  pay  away  bank-notes  ;  you  must  go 
back  to  the  old  system  of  the  strong  box,  and  of  gold  and  silver.  If  you  have  a 
right  to  receive  bank-notes  at  all — to  treat  them  as  money  by  receiving  them  in 
your  dues,  or  paying  them  away  to  creditors,  you  have  a  right  to  create  a  bank. 
Whatever  the  government  receives  and  treats  as  money,  is  money  in  effttt ;  and 
if  it  be  money,  then  they  have  the  right,  under  the  Constitution,  to  regulate  it. 
Nay,  they  are  bound  by  high  obligation  to  adopt  the  most  efficient  means,  ac 
cording  to  the  nature  of  that  which  they  have  recognised  as  money,  to  give  it 
the  utmost  stability  and  uniformity  of  value.  And  if  it  be  in  the  shape  of  bank 
notes,  the  most  efficient  means'of  giving  those  qualities  is  a  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  incorporated  by  Congress.  Unless  you  give  the  highest  practical  uni- 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  51 

fortuity  to  the  value  of  bank-notes — so  long  as  you  receive  them  in  your  dues, 
and  treat  them  as  money,  you  violate  that  provision  of  the  Constitution  which 
provides  that  taxation  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States.  There  is 
no  other  alternative,  I  repeat ;  you  must  divorce  the  government  entirely  from  the 
banking  system,  or,  if  not,  you  are  bound  to  incorporate  a  bank,  as  the  only  safe 
and  efficient  means  of  giving  stability  and  uniformity  to  the  currency.  And 
should  the  deposites  not  be  restored,  and  the  present  illegal  and  unconstitutional 
connexion  between  the  executive  and  the  league  of  banks  continue,  I  shall  feel 
it  my  duty,  if  no  one  else  moves,  to  introduce  a  measure  to  prohibit  government 
from  receiving  or  touching  bank-notes  in  any  shape  whatever,  as  the  only 
means  left  of  giving  safety  and  stability  to  the  currency,  and  saving  the  country 
from  corruption  and  ruin." 

Again :  "  Were  I,"  said  Mr.  C.,  "  to  select  the  case  best  calculated  to  illus 
trate  the  necessity  of  resisting  usurpation  at  the  very  commencement,  and  to 
prove  how  difficult  it  is  to  resist  it  in  any  subsequent  stage  if  not  met  at  first,  ] 
would  select  this  very  case.  What,  he  asked,  is  the  cause  of  the  present  usur 
pation  of  power  on  the  part  of  the  executive  ?  what  the  motive  ?  the  temptation 
which  has  induced  it  to  seize  on  the  deposites  ?  What,  but  the  large  surplus 
revenue  ?  the  eight  or  ten  millions  in  the  public  treasury  beyond  the  wants  of 
the  government?  And  what  has  put  so  large  an  amount  of  money  in  the  treas 
ury  when  not  needed  ?  I  answer,  the  protective  system :  that  system  which 
graduated  the  duties,  not  in  reference  to  the  wants  of  the  government,  but  ir 
reference  to  the  importunities  and  demands  of  the  manufacturers,  and  which 
poured  millions  of  dollars  into  the  treasury  beyond  the  most  profuse  demands, 
and  even  the  extravagance  of  the  government — taken — unlawfully  taken — from 
the  pockets  of  those  who  honestly  made  it.  I  hold  that  those  who  make  are 
entitled  to  what  they  make  against  all  the  world  except  the  government,  and 
against  it  except  to  the  extent  of  its  legitimate  and  constitutional  wants ;  and 
that  for  the  government  to  take  one  cent  more  is  robbery.  In  violation  of  this 
sacred  principle,  Congress  first  removed  the  money  by  high  duties,  unjustly  and 
unconstitutionally  imposed,  from  the  pockets  of  those  who  made  it,  where  it 
was  rightfully  placed  by  all  laws,  human  and  divine,  into  the  treasury.  The 
executive,  in  his  turn,  following  the  example,  has  taken  them  from  that  depos- 
ite,  and  distributed  them  among  favourite  and  partisan  banks.  The  means 
used  have  been  the  same  in  both  cases.  The  Constitution  gives  to  Congress 
the  power  to  lay  duties,  with  a  view  to  revenue.  This  power,  without  re 
garding  the  object  for  which  it  was  intended,  forgetting  that  it  was  a  great 
trust  power,  necessarily  limited,  by  the  very  nature  of  such  powers,  to  the 
subject  and  the  object  of  the  trust,  was  perverted  to  a  use  never  intended, 
that  of  protecting  the  industry  of  one  portion  of  the  country  at  the  expense  of 
another ;  and,  under  this  false  interpretation,  the  money  was  transferred  from 
its  natural  and  just  deposite,  the  pockets  of  those  who  made  it,  into  the  public 
treasury,  as  I  have  stated.  In  this,  too,  the  executive  followed  the  example 
of  Congress.  By  the  magic  construction  of  a  few  simple  words — '  unless  other 
wise  ordered' — intended  to  confer  on  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  a  limited 
power — to  give  additional  security  to  the  public  deposites,  he  has,  in  like 
manner,  perverted  this  power,  and  made  it  the  instrument,  by  similar  sophistry, 
of  drawing  the  money  from  the  treasury,  and  bestowing  it,  as  I  have  stated,  on 
favourite  and  partisan  banks.  Would  to  God,  said  Mr.  C.,  would  to  God  I 
could  reverse  the  whole  of  this  nefarious  operation,  and  terminate  the  contro 
versy  by  returning  the  money  to  the  pockets  of  the  honest  and  industrious  citi 
zens,  by  the  sweat  of  whose  brows  it  was  made,  with  whom  only  it  can  be 
rightfully  deposited.  But  as  this  cannot  be  done,  I  must  content  myself  by 
giving  a  vote  to  return  it  to  the  public  treasury,  where  it  was  ordered  to  be 
deposited  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature." 

These  extracts  contain  an  explanation,  not  only  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  views  of 
the  banking  system  at  the  time,  but  also  of  those  which  have  governed  his  after 


52  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

course  in  reference  to  the  banks,  and  most  of  the  prominent  questions  since 
agitated.  He  believed  that  there  was,  at  the  time,  a  strong  tendency  in  all  the 
departments  of  the  government  to  usurp  power,  and  that  it  originated  with  Con 
gress.  It  is,  indeed,  a  settled  opinion  with  him,  which  he  has  long  entertained, 
and  the  reasons  for  which  he  recently  explained  in  his  speech  on  the  veto,  that 
usurpations  in  the  Federal  Government  almost  necessarily  originate  with  Con 
gress  ;  but  that  the  powers  which  it  gains  by  usurping  those  of  the  states  or 
people,  adds,  not  to  its  strength,  but  to  that  of  the  other  departments,  and  es 
pecially  of  the  executive,  in  whose  hands  it  becomes  the  means  of  usurping  in 
turn  the  powers  of  Congress,  and  controlling  its  proceedings.  He  accordingly 
attributed  the  great  power  and  influence  of  the  executive  at  this  time,  and  Its 
tendency  to  encroachment,  to  the  previous  encroachments  of  Congress,  espe 
cially  in  passing  the  tariff  of  '28.  That  having  been  prostrated  by  the  inter 
position  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina  and  the  Compromise  Act  at  the  last  ses 
sion,  he  next  turned  his  efforts  to  arresting,  what  he  believed  to  be  its  natural 
consequence,  the  encroachments  of  the  executive ;  and  was  thus,  and  to  that 
extent,  brought  for  the  time  to  act  with  the  opposition  party,  then  called  National 
Republicans.  But  he  occupied  throughout  his  own  independent  State  Rights 
ground  and  principles,  from  which  he  in  no  instance  departed.  Wherever  they 
led,  he  followed,  without  regarding  whether  they  brought  him  to  co-operate  with 
the  opposition  or  administration,  or  left  him  alone  in  the  Senate  to  maintain  and 
defend  his  own  separate  and  peculiar  position. 

His  course  in  the  very  case  under  consideration  strikingly  illustrates  these 
remarks.  He  essentially  differed  on  this  important  occasion  from  both  of  the 
great  parties,  administration  and  opposition.  The  former  was  in  favour  of  the 
league  of  state  banks  as  the  fiscal  agents  and  depositaries  of  the  Government, 
and  opposed  both  to  a  national  bank  and  the  divorce  of  government  from  the 
banks.  The  latter,  on  the  contrary,  were  in  favour  of  a  national  bank,  and  op 
posed  to  the  league  of  banks  and  the  divorce ;  while  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  State 
Rights  party  were  in  favour  of  the  divorce,  or  what  has  since  been  called  the 
Independent  Treasury,  and  opposed  to  a  national  bank,  and  any  connexion  with 
the  banking  system  in  any  way.  It  was  in  conformity  to  these  views,  and  after 
consulting  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  prominent  members  of  the  party,  that  General 
Gordon,  then  a  distinguished  representative  from  Virginia,  introduced  at  the 
time  a  bill  to  establish  the  Independent  Treasury.  It  failed.  The  public  mind 
was  not  then  prepared  ;  but  to  him  will  belong  the  lasting  honour  of  introducing 
one  of  the  most  important  measures  of  modern  times. 

The  removal  of  the  deposites  was  not  the  only  question  of  importance  which 
was  agitated  during  the  session.  Among  others,  the  motion  of  Mr.  Webster, 
who  was  then  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  for  leave  to  bring  in  a 
bill  to  recharter  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  for  six  years,  gave  rise  to  an  in 
teresting  discussion.  Mr.  Calhoun  seized  the  opportunity,  not  to  discuss  the 
question  of  renewal,  but  that  of  the  currency  generally,  which  he  showed,  even 
then,  to  be  deeply  diseased,  and  to  warn  the  Government  and  country  of  the  ap 
proach  of  the  catastrophe  which  has  since  befallen  them.  He  pointed  out  the 
cause  and  character  of  the  disease,  and  the  remedy  that  should  be  adopted  to 
prevent,  if  possible,  the  approaching  shock,  or  at  least  to  lessen  its  violence. 
His  speech*  on  the  occasion  is  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  remarkable  for  its 
forecast  he  ever  made.  It  is  prophetic  throughout,  and  was  pronounced  by  one 
of  the  senators,  himself  a  speaker  of  distinguished  abilities  and  long  experience, 
the  ablest  he  ever  heard.  To  appreciate  its  merits,  it  must  be  read. 

Upon  this  occasion  he  exhibited,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  that  statesmanlike 
faculty  which  has  enabled  him  to  do  so  much  to  direct  events,  by  always  taking 
the  nearest  practicable  step  towards  his  object,  instead  of  refusing  to  do  anythin^ 
unless  he  could  effect  what  was  the  best  in  the  abstract.  The  great  ends  in  his  sys* 
tern  of  life,  whether  public  or  private,  he  has  ever  held  to  be  fixed  by  reason  and 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  8. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  53 

general  rules  ;  but  the  time  and  mode  of  attaining  them  he  regarded  as  questions/ 
of  expediency,  to  be  determined  by  the  circumstances  under  which  he  is  called  tc 
act.  If  things  are  now  wrong,  he  who  refuses  to  make  any  change  for  the  bettei 
because  he  cannot  obtain  at  once  what  he  believes  to  be  best  in  the  abstract, 
is  responsible  for  them  as  they  exist,  and  should  be  classed  rather  with  those 
who  sustain  the  present  wrongs  than  with  those  who  pursue  the  right ;  for  in  prac 
tice,  the  effects  of  their  action  are  the  same  ;  and  yet  he  who  makes  the  nearest 
attainable  approach  to  the  right  is  too  often  confounded  with  those  who  main 
tain  the  wrong,  and  postponed  for  others  who,  content  to  think  correctly,  are 
yet  too  timid  to  act  if  there  be  danger  of  misconstruction,  and  really  contribute 
to  the  continuance  of  that  which  they  condemn.  This  is  a  species  of  fear 
which  Mr.  Calhoun  has  never  known.  Seeing  clearly  his  own  ends,  which 
have  been  long  fixed  by  observation  and  reflection,  he  judges,  with  a  rare  saga 
city,  of  the  nearest  practicable  approach  which  can  be  made  to  them  under  the 
circumstances,  and  advances  forward  to  the  boundaries  assigned  by  prudence 
without  fear  of  the  enemy,  and  halts  when  he  has  taken  as  much  ground  as  he 
can  occupy,  without  regard  to  the  remonstrances  of  his  followers,  who  take  their 
counsels  merely  from  zeal,  and  do  not  properly  ascertain  the  limits  upon  human 
power,  and  the  controlling  force  of  events.  It  is  thus  that  he  is  ever  in  prog 
ress  ;  and  although  generally  in  advance  of  his  party  and  the  world,  in  a  long 
life  he  has  never  been  forced  to  abandon  any  forward  movement,  or  recede  from 
his  end.  He  uses  time  to  control  circumstances,  and  directs  them  both  to  his 
great  object,  which  he  is  ever  on  the  march  sooner  or  later  to  attain.  This 
it  is  which  makes  him  the  master-statesman  of  his  age,  and  thus  he  has  been 

f"ble  to  accomplish  so  much  with  such  inconsiderable  means. 
Upon  the  occasion  to  which  we  now  refer,  he  exhibited  this  statesmanlike 
lode  of  thinking  and  acting  in  a  remarkable  degree.  He  sought  no  trial  of  skill  in 
ratory  where  victories  were  to  be  barren  of  results  to  the  country.  He  avoided 
all  those  topics  of  personal  or  party  excitement,  whose  fleeting  interest  belonged  to 
the  time  and  not  to  the  case  ;  but,  looking  to  the  exigencies  of  the  country,  and 
not  to  the  mere  feelings  of  the  day,  he  surveyed  the  whole  ground  with  military 
precision,  and  made  a  masterly  reconnoisance  of  the  field.  As  abstract  ques 
tions,  he  did  not  enter  into  the  nature  of  the  banking  system,  or  its  constitutional 
propriety.  In  discussing  the  disease,  it  was  necessary  to  touch  slightly  upon  the 
tendencies  of  the  banking  system ;  and  these  touches,  like  the  line  of  Apelles, 
showed  the  master's  hand,  and  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  subject. 
He  traced  clearly  the  deep  seat  of  the  malady,  and  developed  its  probable 
progress  and  consequences  unless  corrected.  He  then  addressed  himself  to 
the  discovery  of  some  remedy,  which  should  be  both  safe  and  efficient.  With 
the  propriety  and  constitutionality  of  the  banking  system  as  abstract  questions 
he  had  nothing  to  do,  and  upon  them  he  only  touched  so  far  as  they  bore  upon 
the  remedy  which  he  had  in  view.  Banks  were  in  existence,  and  through  them 
the  currency  was  indisputably  deeply  diseased.  There  was  not  the  least  proba 
bility  of  any  successful  effort  to  force  the  Government  to  abandon  the  use  of  pa 
per.  He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  showing  that,  if  the  Government 
could  use  paper,  it  could  also  regulate  its  value  ;  and  the  question  was  to  ascer 
tain  the  best  means  of  reaching  that  object.  He  proposed  a  continuance  of  the 
bank  for  twelve  years,  under  severe  restrictions,  and  upon  conditions  which 
would  gradually  diminish  the  volume  of  paper  currency,  so  as  to  enable  the 
Government,  at  the  end  of  that  period,  to  dispense  with  its  use  altogether,  if 
it  should  choose  to  do  so,  without  any  shock  to  the  community.  In  this  point 
of  view,  it  was  of  no  importance  whether  the  original  charter  was  constitutional 
or  not.  Suppose  it  to  be  unconstitutional,  it  was  a  question  whether  we  would 
rid  ourselves  of  the  evil  gradually,  and  without  injury  to  the  community,  or 
whether  we  should  repeal  it  at  once,  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  of  its  immense  con 
nected  interests,  and  send  the  whole  toppling  down  the  abyss  together.  He 
thought  there  was  a  great  difference  between  doing  and  undoing ;  and  while  he 


\ 


64  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

would  never  originate  what  he  believed  to  be  unauthorized  by  the  Constitution, 
he  would  take  his  own  time  for  repairing  the  breaches  already  made  in  it,  and 
so  conduct  the  process  as  to  produce  the  least  possible  amount  of  suffering  in 
the  country.     It  was  thus  that  he  agreed  to  compromise  an  unconstitutional 
tariff  by  allowing  time,  so  as  to  save  vast  and  meritorious  interests  which  were 
connected  with  it ;  and  thus,  too,  he  now  sought  (to  use  his  own  words)  to 
"  unbank  the  banks."     Here,  too,  he  exhibited  an  instance  of  that  cautious  pro 
cess  by  which  all  real  statesmen  conduct  their  reforms,  and  proved  his  aversion 
to  hazarding  the  vast  interests  of  a  community  by  any  sudden  change  which 
was  not  justified  by  experience,  but  suggested  only  by  theoretic  opinions.     It 
was  clearly  seen,  both  in  this  and  his  preceding  speeches,  that  he  disapproved 
the  banking  system,  and  saw,  as  far  as  mere  reason  without  experience  could 
point,  that  its  tendencies  were  evil ;  and  yet  he  forbore  to  strike  at  it  until  there 
was  time  to  verify  his  reflection  by  experience,  and  the  period  should  arrive 
when  an  effectual  blow  might  be  given.    If  the  system  were  good,  it  was  clear 
to  him  that  it  required  severe  restrictions  and  judicious  regulation ;  if  evil,  he 
was  equally  decided  that  it  ought  to  be  removed  gradually,  so  as  to  produce  the 
least  shock  to  the  community.     In  either  point  of  view,  his  course  of  conduct 
would  be  the  same  up  to  a  certain  period,  to  which  he  limited  his  prescription. 
The  question  of  his  future  action  he  reserved  for  the  time  itself,  to  be  deter 
mined  by  the  lights  of  a  more  matured  experience.     It  was  not  his  object  to 
amuse  theorists  or  gratify  a  mere  taste  for  speculation,  but  he  sought  a  practical 
remedy  for  a  disease  under  which  the  community  was  likely  to  suffer  most  in 
tensely.     As  his  suggestions  were  not  taken,  we  can  come  to  no  certain  con 
clusion  as  to  what  they  would  have  led,  but  posterity  will  form  its  opinion  as  to 
their  probable  result.     Of  this,  however,  we  feel  assured,  that  the  speech  will 
always  be  considered  as  most  remarkable  for  its  political  forecast. 

So  deeply  was  he  impressed  with  the  approaching  danger,  that  when  he  un 
derstood  Mr.  Webster  contemplated  making  the  motion  he  afterward  made,  to 
renew  the  charter,  he  sent  word  through  a  friend  of  his,  who  had  called  on 
him,  that  he  feared  he  was  about  to  make  a  false  move,  and  said  that,  although 
he  and  Mr.  Webster  were  scarcely  on  speaking  terms,  in  consequence  of  the 
occurrences  of  the  last  session,  he  would  be  glad  to  have  a  full  conversation 
with  him  before  he  made  his  motion,  if  he  would  give  him  an  opportunity  by 
calling  on  him.  The  next  morning  he  called.  Mr.  Calhoun  stated  his  objection 
to  the  course  he  proposed,  and  what  he  thought  ought  to  be  done.  Mr.  Webster 
took  time  before  he  gave  an  answer,  but  informed  Mr.  Calhoun,  when  he  called 
next  day  to  learn  his  decision,  that  he  concluded  not  to  change  his  course.  Mr. 
Calhoun  expressed  his  regret,  and  on  being  asked  by  Mr.  Webster  whether  he 
would  oppose  his  motion,  he  replied  no  ;  but  added  that  he  Relieved  the  govern 
ment  and  country  were  approaching  a  period  of  great  peril,  ''and  that  he  felt  that 
it  would  be  due  both  to  the  public  and  himself  to  embrace  the  occasion  to  state 
at  large  the  opinions  and  views  he  had  expressed  to  him.  He,  in  fact,  regarded 
it  as  the  critical  moment ;  and  when  he  saw  that  it  was  permitted  to  pass  with 
out  doing  anything  to  prevent  the  disorder  into  which  the  currency  was  falling, 
he  made  up  his  mind  that  what  has  since  followed  was  inevitable. 

In  this  connexion,  and  governed  by  the  same  views,  he  gave  a  decided  sup 
port  to  what  is  called  the  Gold  Bill,,  which  raised  the  relative  value  of  gold 
compared  to  silver,  and  the  establishment  of  the  branch  mints,  both  of  which  he 
regarded  as  intimately  connected  with  a  return  to  a  permanent  and  sound  cur 
rency.  The  administration  favoured  both  measures,  and  Mr.  Clay  opposed  them. 
The  discussion  on  both  was  conducted  principally  by  him  and  Mr.  Calhoun. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Senate  on  the  removal  of  the  deposites  was  followed 
by  the  President's  protest,  which  gave  rise  to  a  full  and  animated  discussion  in 
the  Senate.  Mr.  Calhoun  took  decided  ground  against  its  reception.  In  the 
course  of  his  argument,  he  maintained  the  position  that  the  Constitution  vests  all 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  55 

discretionary  powers  in  Congress,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  executive  and  judici 
ary  departments  ;  and  that  neither  of  them,  nor  any  office  under  the  government, 
can  exercise  any  power  not  authorized  by  law,  but  such  as  is  expressly  granted 
by  the  Constitution.  To  sustain  this  important  position,  he  cited  the  provision 
in  the  Constitution  which  gives  to  Congress  the  power  "to  pass  all  laws  ne 
cessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing"  (that  is,  the  pow 
ers  granted  to  Congress),  "  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  office  thereof."  The 
provision  is  express,  and  the  position  incontrovertible ;  and  yet,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  it  had  been  theretofore  entirely  overlooked,  although  it  is  one  of  the 
most  important  provisions  in  the  whole  instrument.  It  is  the  provision,  in  fact, 
which  binds  up  all  the  parts  in  one,  making  of  them  one  government,  instead  of 
consisting,  as  they  would  without  it,  of  three  hostile  departments,  each  with  the 
authority  to  assume  whatever  right  it  might  think  proper  to  carry  into  execution 
its  share  of  the  granted  powers.  One  of  the  important  consequences  of  this 
provision  of  the  Constitution  is  to  subject  the  removing  power  to  the  regulation 
of  law.  The  mere  fact  that  the  power  of  removing  from  office  is  not  granted 
by  the  Constitution  to  the  President,  is  conclusive  proof  that  it  can  only  be  ex 
ercised  by  the  authority  of  law,  and,  of  course,  subject  to  such  limitation  as  it 
may  impose.  It  was,  indeed,  an  investigation  into  the  origin  of  that  power 
which  led  Mr.  Calhoun  to  the  examination  of  the  Constitution,  which  ended  in 
making  this  important  disclosure,  as  it  may  fairly  be  termed. 

At  the  next  session  a  special  committee  of  nine  members  was,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Calhoun,  raised,  in  order  to  inquire  into  the  extent  of  the  executive  patron 
age,  the  cause  of  its  great  increase  of  late,  and  the  expediency  and  practicabil 
ity  of  reducing  the  same,  and  the  means  of  doing  it.  After  a  minute  and  labo 
rious  investigation,  he  made  a  full  and  able  report*  on  all  the  points,  of  which 
10,000  copies  were  ordered  to  be  printed  by  the  Senate. 

One  of  the  leading  objects  which  he  had  in  view  was  to  strike  at  the  surplus 
revenue.  He  anticipated  it  would  be  large,  although  the  Compromise  Act  had 
repealed  the  duties  on  more  than  one  half  of  the  imports.  But  even  that,  aided 
by  the  gradual  reduction  on  all  the  residue,  could  not  prevent  the  accumulation. 
He  dreaded  it,  not  only  because  it  would  add  greatly  to  the  patronage  of  the 
executive  by  extending  its  control  over  the  banks,  and,  through  them,  over  the 
whole  community,  but  still  more  because  it  would  be  the  source  of  boundless 
speculation  and  corruption.  To  ascertain  its  probable  extent,  he  entered  into 
a  minute  examination  of  the  finances,  and  after  exploring  the  whole  ground,  he 
estimated  the  surplus  at  an  average  of  not  less  than  nine  millions  of  dollars  an 
nually  for  the  whole  period  the  Compromise  Act  had  to  run.  As  moderate  as 
his  estimate  proved  to  be,  it  was  violently  assailed,  at  the  time,  for  its  supposed 
extravagance. 

But  time  rolled  on,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  next  session,  his  estimate,  in 
stead  of  proving  extravagant,  fell  short  of  the  actual  amount  by  millions,  and 
that  with  a  surplus  daily  increasing  with  an  accelerated  velocity,  under  a  new 
impulse,  which  was  swelling  it  beyond  all  assignable  limits.  Here  a  brief  ex 
planation  is  necessary,  in  order  to  have  a  just  conception  of  the  danger  to  which 
the  government  and  country  were  exposed  at  this  period. 

The  tariff  of  1828  gave  the  first  impulse  to  that  great  expansion  of  the  cur 
rency,  which,  under  the  influence  of  different  causes,  both  foreign  and  domestic, 
was  still  on  the  increase,  and  continued  so  till  just  before  the  final  explosion  in 
1837.  So  powerful  was  the  first  impulse,  from  the  high  duties  imposed  in  1828, 
that  the  currency  was  doubled,  in  the  manufacturing  portions  of  the  Union,  in 
eighteen  months  from  the  passage  of  the  act.  On  the  accumulation  of  the  surplus 
revenue  from  the  same  cause,  after  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  a  new  im 
pulse  was  given  to  the  expansion.  The  surplus  was  deposited  with  the  banks, 
and  became,  in  fact,  so  much  additional  bank  capital,  in  the  least  responsible  and 
*  See  "Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  10. 


56  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

most  dangerous  form.  This,  with  other  causes,  and  especially  the  withdrawal 
of  the  deposites  from  the  United  States  Bank,  and  the  approaching  termination 
of  its  charter,  gave  a  great  additional  impulse  to  the  whole  system.  State 
banks  were  multiplied  in  all  directions,  with  but  little  capital,  and  charters  less 
guarded  than  ever.  All  these  concurring  causes  tended  greatly  to  increase  the 
expansion,  and,  by  necessary  consequence,  to  produce  a  corresponding  augmen 
tation  of  prices,  to  which,  however,  there  was  an  important  exception.  °  The 
price  of  all  public  lands  which  had  been  offered  at  public  sales  and  not  sold, 
was  fixed  by  law  at  $1  25  per  acre,  and  could  not,  of  course,  partake  of  the 
general  rise.  The  quantity  of  such  lands  was  great,  not  less,  probably,  than 
two  hundred  millions  of  acres,  and  thus  a  universal  spirit  of  speculation,  engen 
dered  by  an  inflated  currency  and  high  duties,  was  turned  in  that  direction. 

The  facility  of  purchasing  was  not  less  than  the  quantity  to  be  purchased. 
The  deposites  of  the  government  in  the  state  banks  selected  as  its  fiscal  agents 
was  upward  of  forty  millions  of  dollars,  consisting  almost  exclusively  of  bank 
notes.  From  this  vast  source  speculators  and  political  partisans  drew  their 
funds,  in  the  form  of  discount  or  loan,  in  exchange  for  which  they  gave  their 
own  promissory  notes,  and  received  the  notes  deposited  by  the  government,  or, 
what  was  the  same,  a  credit  in  bank  founded  on  them.  These,  in  turn,  were 
exchanged  for  the  public  lands,  when  they  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  receiv 
ers,  and  were  by  them  returned  to  the  banks  as  new  deposites,  to  take  the  same 
rapid  round  again  and  again,  and  sweeping  away  from  the  people,  by  means 
of  their  own  funds,  a  corresponding  amount  of  their  land,  and  swelling,  in  the 
same  proportion,  the  amount  brought  to  the  credit  of  the  government  by  the 
banks,  under  the  fallacious  name  of  public  money  in  the  treasury,  but  which,  in 
reality,  was  nothing  more  than  the  notes  in  bank  given  by  speculators  and  par 
tisans  in  exchange  for  the  public  lands. 

In  this  operation  every  revolution  but  increased  the  force  of  the  next,  which, 
if  left  to  operate  unchecked,  must  end,  as  was  manifest,  in  the  entire  absorp 
tion  of  the  public  domain  and  the  universal  explosion  of  the  banking  system, 
with  the  ultimate  loss  of  what  was  due  to  the  Government.  It  was  about  the 
time  when  these  powerful  causes  began  to  operate  with  such  effect  as  to  be 
seen  and  felt  by  all,  that  the  administration  obtained  a  majority  in  the  Senate, 
where  it  had  for  some  time  been  in  a  minority ;  on  which  Mr.  Calhoun,  who 
had  moved,  as  has  been  stated,  at  the  preceding  session,  in  anticipation  of  the 
danger,  rose  in  his  place  and  said,  that,  as  the  friends  of  the  administration  were 
now  in  a  majority,  he  left  it  to  them  to  take  the  lead  in  providing  a  remedy  for 
this  alarming  state  of  things. 

All  now  felt  that  something  must  be  done,  and  that  promptly,  to  regulate  and 
control  the  deposite  banks,  and  to  save  the  public  funds  and  the  national  do- 
mam.  Three  remedies  were  proposed.  The  first  was,  to  absorb  the  current 
revenue  and  the  vast  surplus  already  accumulated  by  the  increase  of  the  pub 
lic  expenditures ;  and,  with  that  view,  a  resolution  was  actually  introduced  in 
the  Senate  and  passed,  calling  on  the  executive  to  know  how  much  could  pos 
sibly  be  spent  on  military  defences.  The  next  was  to  vest  what  was  not  need 
ed  to  meet  the  current  expenses  of  the  government  in  state  stocks ;  and  the 
other,  to  pass  an  act  regulating  and  controlling  the  deposite  banks,  and  to  place 
the  surplus  in  deposite  in  the  treasury  of  the  several  states.  The  first  two 
came  from  the  friends  of  the  administration,  and  the  last  was  proposed  by  Mr. 
Calhoun  as  an  amendment  to  the  second. 

It  was  the  choice  of  evils.  Something  must  be  done.  Anything  was  better 
than  the  continuance  of  the  actual  state  of  things.  This  all  acknowledged. 
The  objection  to  the  first  was  great.  So  sudden  and  great  an  increase  of  ex 
penditures  when  prices  were  so  extravagant,  and  when,  without  a  vast  enlarge 
ment  of  the  disbursing  departments,  there  could  be  no  efficient  accountability, 
could  not  but  end  in  much  waste,  loss,  extravagance,  and  corruption,  to  say  no 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  57 

thing  of  the  great  increase  of  patronage.  But  the  great  and  decisive  objection 
was,  that  expenditures  sufficiently  large  to  absorb  the  surplus  would  necessarily 
destroy,  in  their  effects,  the  Compromise  Act,  and  restore  the  protective  system. 
It  is  easy  to  raise  the  expenditures,  but  very  difficult  to  reduce  them,  of  which 
the  experience  of  the  last  five  or  six  years  affords  abundant  proof.  The  revenue 
at  the  time,  though  far  beyond  the  wants  of  the  government,  was  in  the  regular 
course  of  reduction  under  the  compromise,  which  would,  in  the  course  of  six 
years,  bring  it  down  to  a  sum  only  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the  Government 
with  rigid  economy.  To  have  raised  the  expenditures  sufficiently  high  to  ab 
sorb  the  surplus,  under  such  circumstances,  would  have  required  an  unusual 
disbursement  of  between  thirty  and  forty  millions  of  dollars  for  the  whole  pe 
riod,  as  experience  has  shown  ;  and,  of  course,  a  sudden  reduction  of  nearly 
twenty  millions,  to  bring  down  the  expenditures  to  what,  with  proper  manage 
ment,  would  be  necessary.  So  great  and  sudden  a  reduction  would  prove  im 
practicable,  and  the  certain  result  would  be  loans,  debts,  the  violation  of  the  com 
promise,  and  a  renewal  of  the  protective  system.  All  this  was  urged  against 
the  scheme  by  Mr.  Calhoun  at  the  time.  It  was  defeated,  at  least  in  a  great 
degree  ;  and  it  may  well  be  asked,  after  the  experience  of  the  last  two  years, 
what  would  have  been  the  consequences  if  it  had  not  been,  when  even  its  par 
tial  effects  have  brought  on  the  Government  and  country,  to  the  extent  they  have, 
the  very  evils  then  anticipated  by  him. 

The  objection  to  vesting  the  surplus  in  state  stocks  was  not  less  serious. 
Among  so  many  other  mischievous  consequences,  it  would  have  been  grossly 
partial;  but  the  insurmountable  objection  was  the  danger  of  entangling  the 
Government  with  the  state  stocks. 

This  scheme  was  in  substance  as  much  a  deposite  of  the  surplus  revenue  with 
the  states  as  that  proposed  by  Mr.  Calhoun  as  an  amendment  to  it.  The  latter 
placed  the  money  with  the  states  upon  their  promise  to  return  it,  if  the  General 
Government  should  require  it,  while  the  former  exchanged  the  surplus  for  the 
obligations,  by  which  the  states,  in  another  form,  were  bound  to  repay  it ;  so  that 
each  scheme  proposed  to  exchange  the  surplus  for  state  credit  in  some  form. 
With  state  stocks  depreciating  as  they  have  since  done,  it  would  have  been  as 
unpopular  and  impossible  to  have  used  any  means  to  recover  the  money  by 
selling  them,  as  it  would  have  been  to  have  recalled  it  directly  from  the  states 
themselves.  The  difference  was,  that  Mr.  Calhoun's  scheme  bestowed  upon  the 
states  all  the  patronage  resulting  from  the  use  of  the  money,  while  the  other 
gave  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  whom  it  vested  an  almost  unlimited 
discretion,  and  to  whom  it  gave  the  dangerous  power  of  dealing  in  those  stocks 
to  large  amounts.  That  this  plan  would  have  resulted  in  the  entire  loss  of  the 
money,  .with  little  or  no  benefit  to  the  states,  we  may  see  from  our  past  experi 
ence.  The  immense  increase  of  executive  patronage  to  which  it  would  have  led 
may  also  be  estimated.  But  the  endless  train  of  mischiefs  which  would  have 
followed  in  some  of  its  remote  consequences  it  would  be  difficult  to  measure,  as 
we  may  readily  perceive,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  use  which  might  have 
been  made  of  such  a  power  in  the  federal  executive  by  those  who  have  con 
ceived  the  monstrous  scheme  of  assuming  the  state  debts.  Indeed,  the  exist 
ence  of  such  a  power  would  naturally  seem  to  suggest  such  a  use  of  it,  with  the 
ideas  now  prevalent  in  the  minds  of  many  of  our  public  men  on  the  subject  of 
state-indebtedness. 

Nor  was  the  last  of  the  alternatives  free  from  serious  objections ;  but,  under 
all  circumstances,  it  was  thought  to  be  the  least  so  by  Congress,  and  it  accord 
ingly  passed  through  both  houses  by  a  large  majority.  Mr.  Calhoun  made  a 
very  comprehensive  and  able  speech  against  the  first  two,  and  explained  his 
views  of  the  substitute  he  offered. 

This  was  not  the  only  important  measure  that  claisned  his  attention  during 
the  session.  In  the  preceding  recess  the  Abolitionists  had  for  the  first  time 

H 


58  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

regularly  organized  as  a  party,  with  a  powerful  press,  and  attempted,  by  sys 
tematic  operations,  to  force  its  publications  on  the  South,  with  a  view  of  acting 
on  its  slave  population.  It  carried  deep  excitement  throughout  that  entire  sec 
tion.  Everywhere  meetings  were  held  and  the  attempt  denounced,  arid  the 
other  sections  called  upon  to  adopt  measures  to  stay  the  evil.  The  President, 
in  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  called  the  attention  of  Congress 
to  the  subject,  and  recommended  the  adoption  of  efficient  measures  to  prevent 
the  circulation  of  their  incendiary  publications  through  the  mail.  Mr.  Cal- 
houn,  although  he  appreciated  and  highly  approved  the  patriotic  motives  of  the 
Preaident,  could  not  agree  with  him  to  the  full  extent  of  his  recommendation. 
He  saw  the  danger  of  permitting  Congress  to  assume  the  right  of  judging  of 
what  constituted  an  incendiary  publication  ;  for  if  it  be  conceded  that  it  has  the 
right  of  determining  what  is  incendiary,  and  to  prevent  its  circulation,  it  would, 
by  necessary  consequence,  carry  with  it  the  right  of  determining  what  was  not, 
and  to  enforce  its  circulation  against  the  laws  of  such  states  as  might  prohibit 
them.  With  this  impression,  and  in  order  to  prevent  the  adoption  of  erroneous 
views,  at  the  outset,  on  a  subject  so  vitally  important  to  the  slave-holding  states, 
he  moved  the  reference  of  the  portion  of  the  message  containing  the  recom 
mendation  to  a  special  committee,  of  which  he  was  appointed  chairman. 

The  report*  he  made  took  a  very  original  and  able  survey  of  the  whole  ground, 
and  conclusively  proved,  both  by  arguments  drawn  from  the  Constitution  and 
the  practice  of  the  Government,  that  it  belonged  to  the  states  separately  to  de 
termine  what  is  or  is  not  calculated  to  affect  or  disturb  its  internal  police,  in 
cluding  its  peace  and  safety,  and  to  adopt  the  measures  necessary  for  their 
security  ;  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  not  only  to  con 
form  its  acts,  in  reference  to  the  mail  or  for  the  regulation  of  commerce,  to  the 
legislation  of  the  states  in  such  cases,  but  to  aid  in  the  execution  of  the  laws 
of  the  states,  as  far  as  its  power  would  permit,  when  it  became  necessary. 
The  report  was  accompanied  by  a  bill,  drawn  up  in  conformity  with  these 
views,  and  was  ordered  to  the  third  reading  by  the  casting  vote  Ok  «Lfc  Vice- 
president,  but  finally  failed. 

This  bill  gave  rise  in  the  Senate  to  a  very  animated  and  interesting  debate, 
principally  between  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Davis  of  Massachusetts,  in  which 
the  arguments  for  and  against  are  strongly  presented  on  both  sides.  For  ori 
ginal  views  of  the  Constitution  and  strength  of  argument,  Mr.  Calhoun's  speechf 
on  the  occasion  ranks  with  his  ablest,  and  is  worthy  of  the  study  of  all  who  de 
sire  to  understand  some  of  the  most  important  provisions  of  that  instrument. 

During  the  same  session  he  made  another  speechj  on  the  same  subject,  dis 
tinguished  for  its  foresight  and  knowledge  of  the  Constitution.  For  the  first 
time  there  began  to  pour  in  that  flood  of  petitions  on  the  subject  of  abolition 
which  has  since  deluged  Congress.  The  members  from  the  non-slave-holding 
states  on  both  sides,  though  adverse  to  the  petitions,  were  opposed  to  taking 
strong  and  decided  grounds  against  them ;  and  their  respective  political  friends 
in  the  South  were  naturally  indisposed  to  force  them  to  take  higher  grounds 
tlian  they  were  inclined  to  do.  The  result  was  a  sort  of  compromise,  to  re 
ceive  the  petitions,  but  not  to  refer  or  act  upon  them.  Mr.  Calhoun,  whose 
rule  has  ever  been  to  meet  danger  "  on  the  frontier,"  to  use  his  own  expres 
sion,  saw  the  peril  of  receiving  the  petitions,  and  determined  to  take  a  decided 
stand  against  it.  He  expected  to  stand  alone  ;  but  with  such  force  did  he 
maintain  his  objections^  to  receiving,  that  he  was  supported  by  a  large  portion 
of  the  Southern  senators,  and  the  motion  to  receive  was  laid  on  the  table. 
Since  then,  no  petition  of  the  kind  has  been  received  by  the  Senate. 
/  The  prominent  question  at  the  next  session  was  the  Specie  Circular.  The 
President  had  issued  an  order  in  the  recess  prohibiting  the  receipt  of  bank 
notes,  or  anything  but  specie  in  payment  of  the  public  lands.  The  opposition 
*  See  «  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  1 1.  f  Ibid,  No.  12.  J  Ibid,  No.  13.  $  Ibid,  No.  14. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  59 

was  unanimously  opposed  to  it,  both  on  the  ground  of  expediency,  and  the  want 
of  authority  on  his  part  to  issue  such  an  order,  while  his  friends  and  supporters 
were  greatly  divided,  some  sustaining,  but  the  greater  part  opposing  the  meas 
ure.  Mr.  Calhoun  agreed  with  those  who  denied  the  right  of  the  President 
to  issue  the  order,  on  the  broad  principle  that  neither  the  Constitution  nor  the 
laws  conferred  it,  and  that  the  executive  had  no  power  but  what  was  conferred 
by  the  one  or  the  other.  Nevertheless,  he  declined  voting  for  the  bill  to  super 
sede  the  order,  which  was  passed  by  a  great  majority,  a  large  portion  of  the 
administration  party  voting  for  it.  His  reasons  were,  that  the  diseased  state  of 
the  currency  was  beyond  remedy,  and  whether  the  circular  was  repealed  or 
not,  the  result  would  be  the  same.  He  regarded  the  catastrophe  as  inevitable, 
and  that  the  only  question  was,  at  whose  door  the  responsibility  should  be  laid. 
He  saw  that  if  the  circular  should  be  rescinded,  it  would  be  charged  on  those 
by  whose  vote  it  was  done ;  and  as  he  felt  conscious  that  he  had  done  all  that 
he  could  to  arrest  the  approaching  calamity,  he  was  determined  to  avoid  all 
responsibility,  and  therefore  declined  voting  for  the  bill.  He  was  entitled  to 
the  floor,  and  intended  to  offer  his  reasons  at  large  ;  but  when  it  came  up  on  its 
passage,  was  accidentally  prevented  from  speaking.  On  his  return  home  in 
March,  several  of  his  friends  in  Charleston,  interested  in  trade  and  the  banks, 
asked  his  opinion  of  the  prospect  ahead.  His  reply  was,  that  the  storm  was  ap 
proaching,  and  was  just  at  hand,  and  his  advice  was  to  reef — reef — reef — quickly 
and  closely,  to  avoid  being  wrecked.  In  two  months  the  banks  suspended  pay 
ments,  and  the  commerce  and  business  of  the  country  were  prostrated. 

During  the  same  session  an  important  question  arose  in  reference  to  the  ad 
mission  of  Michigan.  She  had  been  admitted  at  the  preceding  session  on  the 
condition  of  agreeing  to  the  boundary  between  her  and  Ohio,  as  presented  by 
the  act  for  her  admission.  The  Legislature  of  the  state,  in  compliance  with 
the  act  of  Congress,  called  a  convention  of  the  people  of  the  state,  in  order  to 
determine  whether  the  conditions  should  be  accepted  or  not.  The  convention 
rejected  the  condition.  Subsequently,  an  informal  meeting  or  caucus  was  called 
by  the  party  in  favour  of  accepting  it,  without  legal  authority,  or  any  other  cere 
mony  than  is  used  for  convening  such  meetings  for  ordinary  political  objects.  It 
met,  and  agreed  to  the  condition,  which  had  been  in  due  form  considered  and 
rejected  by  the  convention  legally  and  regularly  called.  The  Committee  on 
the  Judiciary,  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred,  reported  in  favour  of  admitting 
the  state  on  the  authority  of  the  informal  meeting  or  caucus,  for  it  was,  in  fact, 
nothing  more.  Mr.  Cjclhtun  *p]»is«4  the  report  in  two  speeches*  on  the  ground 
of  the  unconstitutionality  and  the  danger  of  the  precedent,  in  which  he  displayed, 
with  great  force  of  argument,  that  thorough  knowledge  »f  the  Constitution  for 
which  he  is  remarkable.  But,  as  powerful  as  was  his  resistance,  it  proved  vain. 
The  bill  passed,  and  has  made  a  precedent,  the  danger  tf  which  time  only  can 
iis close. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

in  which  the  Narrative  is  continued  until  the  Termination  of  the  Second  Session  of  the 

27th  Congress. 

THE  suspension  of  the  banks  in  the  spring  of  '37  marks  an  important  period 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Calhoun  and  the  political  history  of  the  country.  Fortunately, 
under  the  operation  of  the  joint  resolution  of  1816,  and  the  Deposite  Act  of  the 
preceding  year,  in  the  passage  of  both  of  which  he  took  a  decided  part,  the  act 
of  suspension  of  itself  entirely  separated  the  Government  and  the  banks.  The 
former  prohibited  the  Government  from  receiving  the  notes  of  suspended  banks 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  Nos.  16  and  17. 


60  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

in  the  public  dues ;  and  the  latter  prohibited  it  from  using  such  banks  as  the 
depositaries  of  the  public  money,  or  as  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  Government. 
Without  these,  the  union  of  the  Government  with  the  banks  would  still  have 
continued,  and  the  former  would  have  found  itself  reduced  to  the  same  condi 
tion  that  it  was  at  the  end  of  the  war  in  1815,  of  receiving  and  paying  away 
the  notes  of  discredited  banks,  and  using  them  as  its  depositaries  and  agents  in 
the  management  of  its  revenue. 

The  suspension,  as  has  been  stated,  was  not  unexpected  to  Mr.  Calhoun ; 
and  he  was  not  long  in  making  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course  he  would  pursue. 
He  resolved  to  resist  the  reunion  of  the  Government  and  the  banks  in  any 
form,  and  to  oppose  the  establishment  of  a  national  bank.  Indeed,  he  regarded 
it  as  the  first  occasion  that  ever  occurred  which  offered  an  opportunity  for  car 
rying  into  execution  what  he  had  long  believed  to  be  the  true  policy  of  the 
country,  the  divorce  of  the  Government  from  all  connexion  with  banks ;  an 
opinion  which  he  had  first  publicly  and  plainly  indicated  in  1834,  in  his  speech 
on  the  removal  of  the  deposites,  already  cited.  He  made  known  his  determi 
nation  to  a  few  confidential  friends  long  before  the  call  of  the  extraordinary  ses 
sion,  and  resisted  decidedly  all  attempts  to  influence  him  to  support  a  national 
bank. 

With  his  course  thus  fixed,  he  went  to  Washington  at  the  commencement  of 
the  extra  session,  resolved  to  await  the  development  of  the  views  of  the  two 
great  parties  before  he  should  publicly  make  known  his  own,  and  to  act  with 
or  against  them,  according  as  their  course  might  agree  or  disagree  with  his 
own.  He  listened  attentively  to  the  reading  of  the  President's  Message  at  the 
opening  of  the  session,  which  explicitly  opposed  the  establishment  of  a  United 
States  Bank,  and  the  renewal  of  the  union  of  the  Government  and  the  banks, 
and  made  up  his  mind,  as  soon  as  the  reading  was  finished,  that  he  would  give 
it  his  support. 

The  impression  got  out  that  Mr.  Calhoun  would  support  the  message.  It 
caused  much  excitement ;  but  as  it  was  only  a  rumour,  the  development  of  his 
course  in  his  place  in  the  Senate  was  looked  to  with  deep  solicitude.  It  was 
not  long  before  an  occasion  offered.  The  Committee  on  Finances  reported, 
shortly  after  the  message  was  received,  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  what 
was  called  a  Sub-treasury,  but  without  any  provision  for  collecting  the  Govern 
ment  dues  in  specie. 

Mr.  Calhoun  rose  in  his  place,  and  declared  himself  in  favour  of  the  entire 
separation  of  the  Government  from  the  ba%ks**Wft  d<?hotonced  in  strong  terms 
the  report  of  the  committee  for  omitting  what  he  regarded  as  essential  to  a 
se^arftion ;  a*  provision  for  collecting  the  public  dues  in  the  constitutional 
curfenf;y,\v^thout  whicfi  the  measure  they  had  reported  would  prove  a  perfect 
abortion*  *He  declarecf  that  if  that  was  what  was  meant  by  a  sub-treasury,  he 
washed  his  hands  of  all  concern  with  it.  His  remarks  made  a  deep  sensation'* 
and,  he  was  solicited  by  many  of  the  friends  of  the  administration  to  bring  for 
ward,  in  the  shape  of  an  amendment,  a  proposition  to  collect  the  public  dues  in 
specie.  He  replied  that  he  had  not  intended  to  offer  any  proposition  of  his 
own ;  but,  as  they  requested  it,  he  would  comply  with  their  wishes.  When 
the  bill  for  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  came  up  a  few  days  after,  he  stated  his 
opinion  at  large  on  the  subject  of  the  separation  of  the  Government  and  the 
banks,  in  a  speech,  which  made  a  permanent  impression  on  the  public  mind, 
in  reference  to  the  whole  banking  system.  He  gave  notice  in  his  speech*  of 
his  intention  of  moving  an  amendment,  at  the  proper  time,  to  the  bill,  for  the 
gradual  but  permanent  separation  of  the  Government  from  the  banks,  but  finally 
agreed  to  postpone  his  motion  till  the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  the  Sub- 
treasury  should  come  under  consideration.  When  that  came  up,  he  moved  his 
amendment,  and  made  a  second  speech,f  in  which  he  traced  the  rise  and  progress 
of  the  banking  system,  and  marked  the  several  stages  through  which  it  had 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  18.  f  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  19. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  61 

passed ;  he  showed  that  it  contained  within  itself  the  principle  of  its  own  de 
struction  ;  and  finally  exposed  the  mischievous  character  and  tendency  of  the 
system,  economically,  politically,  and  morally.  His  amendment  prevailed,  and 
the  bill  passed  the  Senate  as  amended,  but  failed  in  the  House. 

Such  was  Mr.  Calhoun's  course  on  this  memorable  occasion.  All  things 
considered,  it  has  seldom  been  equalled  for  patriotism,  magnanimity,  sagacity, 
and  boldness.  We  have  seen  him,  in  obedience  to  his  principles,  and  what 
seemed  to  be  his  duty,  separate  himself  from  General  Jackson  and  the  party 
when  in  the  plenitude  of  their  power,  and  when  he  held  the  second  office  in 
the  Government,  with  every  prospect  of  reaching  the  highest.  We  have  seen 
him,  after  his  separation,  instead  of  courting  the  opposition  in  order  to  maintain 
Irmself  against  the  power  and  influence  of  the  executive,  again  pursue  a  course 
ia  obedience  to  principle  and  duty,  which  brought  him  into  direct  conflict  with 
berth,  and  left  him  with  his  state  alone  to  maintain  the  unequal  struggle  against 
a  course  of  policy  which,  he  believed,  if  not  arrested,  would  prove  ruinous  to  the 
Government  and  country.  We  have  seen  him,  when  the  state,  in  pursuance  of 
his  course,  had  effected  its  object,  availing  himself  of  the  aid  of  the  opposition 
to  bring  down  the  power  and  influence  of  the  executive  department  (origina 
ting  in  the  encroachments  of  the  Congress)  within  proper  constitutional,  legal 
limits.  That  done,  we  next  see  him,  when  the  reaction  of  the  very  system  to 
oppose  which  he  separated  from  the  party  had  prostrated  them,  and  when  the 
opposition  with  which  he  had  for  a  time  acted  were  preparing  to  rush  on  and 
overwhelm  them  in  their  weakness,  and  to  re-establish  their  old  doctrines  and 
principles,  rising  up  promptly,  overcoming  all  personal  feelings,  forgetting  all 
past  differences,  boldly  repelling  the  assaults  of  his  recent  allies,  and  de 
fending  and  protecting  those  from  whom  he  had  been  so  long  separated,  and  by 
whom  he  had  been  much  wronged,  in  stern  obedience  to  his  principles  and  to 
what  he  believed  to  be  his  duty  :  thus  clearly  showing,  by  his  whole  course 
throughout  this  eventful  period,  that  when  they  wefe  at  stake,  neither  ambition, 
fear,  enmity,  friendship,  nor  popularity  could  bend  him  from  his  course. 

The  stand  which  he  took  drew  down  on  him,  as  might  be  expected,  the  bitter 
denunciation  and  vengeance  of  the  opposition,  who  had  now  assumed  the  name 
of  Whigs.  Among  other  things,  they  charged  him  with  desertion,  as  if  he  had 
ever  been  of  their  party,  and  when,  in  fact,  he  had  kept  himself  distinct  from 
both  the  great  parties  from  the  time  of  his  separation  from  General  Jackson. 
That  there  might  be  no  mistake  on  that  point,  he  took  the  earliest  opportunity 
in  the  Senate  to  avow  ,what  his  position  was.  In  his  speech  on  Mr.  Webster's 
motion,  in  1834,  to  renew  the  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank  for  six  years, 
he  said,  "  I  am  the  partisan  of  no  class,  nor,  let  me  addr,  of  either  political  party. 
I  am  neither  of  the  opposition  nor  administration.  If  I  act  with  the  former  in 
any  instance,  it  is  because  I  approve  of  their  course  o»  the  particular  occasion, 
,  an^  I  shall  always  be  happy  to  act  with  them  when  I  do  approve.  If  I  oppose 
the  administration,  if  I  desire  to  see  power  change  hands,  it  is  because  I  disap 
prove  of  the  general  course  of  those  in  authority.." 

To  which  he  added:  "  But  mine  has  not  faTen,  nor  will  it  be,  a  systematic 
opposition.  Whatever  measure  of  theirs  Irdeem  right  I  shall  cheerfully  sup 
port,  and  I  only  desire  that  they  will  afford  me  more  frequent  occasions  for 
•support  and  fewer  for  opposition  than  they  have  heretofore  done."  He  often 
avowed  the  same  sentiments,  and  acted  throughout  in  strict  conformity  to  the 
principles  here  laid  down  ;  and  when  Mr.  Clay,  for  the  first  time  in  the  Senate, 
assumed  the  name  of  Whig  for  himself  and  the  party,  intending  to  comprehend 
under  it  all  that  did  not  support  the  administration,  the  State  Rights  as  well 
as  the-uational  parties,  Mr.  Calhoun  rose  in  his  place  and  disavowed  the  name, 
as  applied  to  himself,  and  expressed  himself  contented  with  the  name  he  bore. 
If  to  this  it  is  added,  he  never,  on  any  occasion,  joined  in  their  political  meet 
ings  or  party  consultations,  and  always  kept  himself  free  on  every  question  to 


62  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

follow  the  dictates  of  his  own  judgment,  it  must  be  obvious  that  the  charge  of 
desertion  is  wholly  groundless.  In  truth,  he  never  from  the  first  permitted  his 
party  obligations  to  overrule  his  attachment  to  principles  or  duty,  and  through 
out  this  trying  period  he  availed  himself  of  the  aid  of  whatever  party  fell  in 
with  his  course  for  the  time,  to  effect  the  important  objects  he  had  in  view, 
but  without  permitting  them,  in  any  instance,  to  divert  him  from  his  end. 

At  the  next  session,  the  Sub-treasury,  or  the  reorganization  of  the  treasury, 
•with  the  view  of  collecting,  safe  keeping,  and  disbursing  the  public  moneys 
through  its  own  officers,  without  the  agency  of  banks,  again  became  the  prom 
inent  question.  The  subject  was  again  referred  in  the  Senate  to  the  Commit 
tee  of  Finance,  which  reported  a  bill  much  fuller  in  its  details,  and  containing 
what  is  called  the  specie  feature,  that  is,  a  provision  for  the  gradual,  but  entire 
separation  of  the  government  from  the  banks,  similar  to  that  moved  at  the  extra 
session  by  Mr.  Calhoun.  Mr.  Rives  moved,  as  a  substitute,  to  strike  out  the 
whole  bill  after  the  enacting  clause,  and  to  insert  in  lieu  the  use  of  the  state 
banks  as  the  depositaries  and  fiscal  agents  of  the  government,  as  formerly  used, 
but  with  some  additional  modifications.  The  discussion  took  place  on  the 
amendment,  and  the  argument  principally  turned  on  the  respective  merits  of 
the  two  systems.  Both  sides  put  out  their  strength.  The  debate  was  ani 
mated  and  able.  Mr.  Calhoun  took  a  prominent  part,  and  greatly  distinguished 
himself  in  the  speech  he  delivered  on  the  occasion.*  This  drew  down  on 
him  pointed  personal  attacks  from  the  two  great  leaders  of  the  opposition,  Mr. 
Clay  and  Mr.  Webster,  with  whom  he  had  to  contend  single  handed.  The 
conflict  excited  deep  and  universal  interest.!  It  was  called  in  the  journals 
of  the  day  the  war  of  the  giants ;  and  it  is  no  more  than  justice  to  him  to  say, 
that  he  repelled  their  charges  with  signal  success,  and  turned  back  the  war 
with  effect.^ 

After  the  defeat  of  the  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Rives,  and  just  before  the 
question  was  put  on  the  engrossment,  a  motion  was  made  to  strike  out  the  spe 
cie  feature,  which  succeeded  by  the  united  vote  of  the  opposition  and  a  consid 
erable  portion  of  the  friends  of  the  administration.  The  effect  of  the  amend 
ment  would  be  for  the  government  to  collect  the  dues  in  the  notes  of  the  banks, 
and  deposite  them  for  safe  keeping  in  its  own  safes  and  vaults,  to  which  Mr. 
Calhoun  had  from  the  first  avowed  his  hostility.  He  reserved  his  opposition, 
until  the  bill  had  been  perfected,  according  to  the  views  of  those  who  had  made 
the  amendment,  and  the  question  put  on  the  engrossment,  when  he  stated  his 
objections  in  a  short,  but  strong  and  decisive  speech,  showing  that  it  was  liable 
to  all  the  dangers  and  objections  for  which  the  pet-bank  system  was  obnoxious, 
attended  by  additional  dangers  and  objections  peculiar  to  itself.  The  bill,  nev 
ertheless,  passed  the  Senate,  but  the  argument  was  not  without  its  effects.  The 
views  of  JVlr.  Calhoun  ^re  almost  unanimously  sustained  by  the  party  in  the 
House  and  the  country.  The  bill  failed,  and  the  session  terminated  in  leading  . 
things  as  they  were. 

It  was  during  this  session  that  Mr.  Calhoun  introduced  his  resolutions  on  the 
subject  of  abolition.  He  had  always  regarded  this  as  the  most  mischievous 
species  of  political  fanaticism,  and  the  only  question  which  could  really  en 
danger  the  Union.  He  saw  the  non-slave-holding  states  closely  divided  be 
tween  two  great  parties,  and  a  third  growing  up  and  organizing  upon  a  principle 
which  they  believed  of  a  higher  importance  than  any  involved  in  the  political 
issues  of  the  day.  Should  this  sect  continue  to  increase  without  opposition 
from  either  of  the  great  parties,  its  influence  might  become  strong  enough  to  de 
cide  the  political  contests,  and  so  formidable  that  it  would  be  courted.  As  their 
ends  could  only  be  attained  through  consolidation,  it  was  likely  that  they  would 
join  the  party  whose  principles  had  that  tendency.  The  best  interests  of  the 
Union,  and  the  integrity  of  the  Republican  party,  seemed  to  require  the  line  to 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  Nos.  20,  21,  and  22. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  63 

be  drawn  at  once  between  that  party  and  the  Abolitionists.  He  accordingly 
moved  the  following  resolutions,  which  present  so  strongly  his  views  of  the  re 
lations  of  the  General  Government  and  of  the  states  to  this  subject,  that  we 
shall  extract  them. 

"  Mr.  Calhoun  then  submitted  the  following  resolutions  : 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  states 
adopting  the  same  acted  severally  as  free,  independent,  and  sovereign  states ; 
and  that  each,  for  itself,  by  its  own  voluntary  assent,  entered  the  Union  with  the 
view  to  its  increased  security  against  all  dangers,  domestic  as  well  as  foreign, 
and  the  more  perfect  and  secure  enjoyment  of  its  advantages,  natural,  political, 
and  social. 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  delegating  a  portion  of  their  powers  to  be  exercised  by 
the  Federal  Government,  the  states  retained  severally  the  exclusive  and  sole 
right  over  their  own  domestic  institutions  and  police,  and  are  alone  responsible 
for  them ;  and  that  any  intermeddling  of  any  one  or  more  states,  or  a  combina 
tion  of  their  citizens,  with  the  domestic  institutions  and  police  of  the  others,  on 
any  ground  or  under  any  pretext  whatever,  political,  moral,  or  religious,  with  a 
view  to  their  alteration  or  subversion,  is  an  assumption  of  superiority  not  war 
ranted  by  the  Constitution,  insulting  to  the  states  interfered  with,  tending  to  en 
danger  their  domestic  peace  and  tranquillity,  subversive  of  the  objects  for  which 
the  Constitution  was  formed,  and,  by  necessary  consequence,  tending  to  weaken 
and  destroy  the  Union  itself. 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Government  was  instituted  and  adopted  by  the  several 
states  of  this  Union  as  a  common  agent,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  the  powers 
which  they  had  delegated  by  the  Constitution  for  their  mutual  security  and  pros 
perity  ;  and  that,  in  fulfilment  of  this  high  and  sacred  trust,  this  Government  is 
bound  so  to  exercise  its  powers  as  to  give,  as  far  as  may  be  practicable,  in 
creased  stability  and  security  to  the  domestic  institutions  of  the  states  that  com 
pose  the  Union ;  and  that  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  the  Government  to  resist  all 
attempts  by  one  portion  of  the  Union  to  use  it  as  an  instrument  to  attack  the 
domestic  institutions  of  another,  or  to  weaken  or  destroy  such  institutions,  in 
stead  of  strengthening  and  upholding  them,  as  it  is  in  duty  bound  to  do. 

"  Resolved,  That  domestic  slavery,  as  it  exists  in  the  Southern  and  WesteKTA 
States  of  this  Union,  composes  an  important  part  of  their  domestic  institutions,  I 
inherited  from  their  ancestors,  and  existing  at  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,/ 
by  which  it  is  recognised  as  constituting  an  essential  element  in  the  distribu-l 
tion  of  its  powers  among  the  states  ;  and  that  no  change  of  opinion  or  feeling  ^ 
on  the  part  of  the  other  states  of  the  Union  in  relation  to  it  can  justify  them  or 
their  citizens  in  open  and  systematic  attacks  thereon,  with  the  view  to  its  over 
throw  ;  and  that  all  such  attacks  are  in  manifest  violation  of  the  mutual  and 
solemn  pledge  to  protect  and  defend  each  other,  given  by  the  states  respectively 
on  entering  into  the  Constitutional  compact  which  formed  the  Union,  and,  as 
such,  is  a  manifest  breach  of  faith,  and  a  violation  of  the  most  solemn  obliga^ 
tions,  moral  and  religious. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  intermeddling  of  any  state  or  states,  or  their  citizens,  to 
abolish  slavery  in  this  district,  or  any  of  the  territories,  on  the  ground  or  under 
the  pretext  that  it  is  immoral  or  sinful,  or  the  passage  of  any  act  or  measure 
of  Congress  with  that  view,  would  be  a  direct  and  dangerous  attack  on  the  in 
stitutions  of  all  the  slave-holding  states. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  union  of  these  states  rests  on  an  equality  of  rights  and 
advantages  among  its  members  ;  and  that  whatever  destroys  that  equality  tends 
to  destroy  the  Union  itself;  and  that  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  all,  and  more  es 
pecially  of  this  body,  which  represents  the  states  in  their  corporate  capacity,  to 
resist  all  attempts  to  discriminate  between  the  states  in  extending  the  benefits 
of  the  Government  to  the  several  portions  of  the  Union ;  and  that  to  refuse  to 
extend  to  the  Southern  and  Western  States  any  advantage  which  would  tend  to 


64  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

strengthen  or  render  them  more  secure,  or  increase  their  limits  or  population  by 
the  annexation  of  new  territory  or  states,  on  the  assumption  or  under  the  pre 
text  that  the  institution  of  slavery,  as  it  exists  among  them,  is  immoral  or  sinful, 
or  otherwise  obnoxious,  would  be  contrary  to  that  equality  of  rights  and  advan 
tages  which  the  Constitution  was  intended  to  secure  alike  to  all  the  members 
of  the  Union,  and  would,  in  effect,  disfranchise  the  slave-holding  states,  with 
holding  from  them  the  advantages,  while  it  subjected  them  to  the  burdens  of  the 
Government." 

These,  with  the  exception  of  the  last,  passed  the  Senate  with  some  slight 
I  modifications.    In  the  course  of  a  long  and  running  debate  on  these  resolutions, 
Ihe  examined  the  relations  of  our  government  to  this  subject.    He  showed  those 
iwho  viewed  slavery  only  in  the  abstract,  that  they  could  never  thus  form  a  true 
(conception  of  their  duty  in  the  existing  state  of  things.     It  was  not  a  question 
'to  be  considered  in  the  abstract,  but  in  the  concrete,  and  with  a  full  view  of  all 
j  the  circumstances  connected  with  it.     In  a  large  portion  of  our  country,  two 
/  races  had  been  thrown  together  in  nearly  equal  numbers,  and  separated  into 
!  castes  by  a  natural  line  too  strongly  drawn  ever  to  be  effaced.    _The  question 
was  not  as  to  what  different  state  of  things  could  be  conceived  as  more-desira 
ble,  but  what  was  the  best  relation  to  establish  between  two  such  races  thrown  to 
gether  under  such  circumstances.     Under  the  institution  of  slavery,  both  races 
had  prospered,  and  the  black  especially  had  made  a  more  rapid  advance  in 
civilization  than  it  had  ever  done  before  in  the  same  space  of  time  and  under 
\other  circumstances.     These  were  facts  to  induce  those  to  pause  who  were 
tempted,  by  considerations  of  abstract  philanthropy,  to  overstep  the  bounds  which 
•Were  imposed  on  their  action  not  only  by  the  Constitution,  but  also  by  an  enlighten 
ed  spirit  of  benevolence  itself.    If  other  considerations  were  wanting,  he  pointed 
to  the  incidental  political  benefits  arising  from  an  institution  which  harmonized 
tlie  relations  between  capital  and  labour,  and  thus  introduced  a  spirit  conserva 
tive  of  both  interests,  so  far  as  Southern  influence  could  be  felt  in  the  action  of 
the  General  Government.     The  passage  of  these  resolutions  placed  the  Aboli 
tionists  in  direct  hostility  to  the  Republican  party,  and  led  to  a  state  of  things 
•which  was  far  safer  to  the  party  and  the  Union  than  to  have  permitted  so  dan 
gerous  a  sect  to  grow  up  unopposed.     The  Republicans,  from  all  sections  of 
the  Union,  found  in  these  propositions  a  common  ground  where  they  could  stand, 
^without  danger  of  schism  upon  the  question  which  threatened  most  to  divide  them. 
At  the  next  session  the  prominent  subject  of  debate  was  Mr.  Crittenden's 
foill  to  prevent  the  interference  of  certain  Federal  officers  in  elections.     Mr. 
'Calhoun  spoke  with  much  power  and  effect  on  the  occasion.*    After  discussing 
the  subject  fully  against  the  bill  on  its  merits,  both  as  to  its  constitutionality 
and  expediency,  and  showing  that  its  effects  would  be  the  opposite  of  what  was 
intended — that  it  would  increase  instead  of  diminishing  the  influence  of  the  ex 
ecutive — he  declared  himself  the  fixed  and  strenuous  friend  of  reducing  the 
influence  and  patronage  of  that  branch  of  the  government  within  the  narrowest 
limits  consistent  with  the  Constitution  and  the  object  for  which  it  was  created. 
He  then  proceeded  to  show  that  the  legitimate  means  of  effecting  that  was  to 
restrict  the  revenue  and  expenditure  to  the  legitimate  and  constitutional  wants 
of  the  Government,  and  to  hold  the  executive  power  strictly  to  its  appropriate 
sphere.     This  led  him  into  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  two  hostile  sys 
tems  of  policy,  which  had  divided  the  country  from  the  formation  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  of  one  of  which  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  head  and  General  Hamilton  of 
the  other.     After  tracing  their  rise  and  progress,  he  showed  that  the  present 
struggle  was  but  a  continuation  of  the  original  conflict  between  them,  and  thai 
an  opportunity  was  now  afforded  for  the  first  time  since  the  Government  went 
into  operation,  to  put  down  ellectually  that  of  which  Hamilton  was  the  head^ — 
the  old  Federal  and  consolidation  party ;   and  to  give  the  opposite — that  of 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  23. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  65 

•which  Jefferson  was  the  head,  the  old  State(Rights  Republican  party — a  per 
manent  ascendency.  In  conclusion  he  said,  "Tt  would  be  presumptuous  in  me, 
Mr.  President,  to  advise  those  who  are  charged  with  the  administration  of  the 
Government  what  course  to  adopt ;  but  if  they  would  hear  the  voice  of  one  who 
desires  nothing  for  himself,  and  whose  only  wish  is  to  see  the  country  prosper 
ous,  free,  and  happy,  I  would  say  to  them,  You  are  placed  in  the  most  remark 
able  juncture  that  has  ever  occurred  since  the  establishment  of  the  Federal 
Government,  and,  by  seizing  the  opportunity,  you  may  bring  the  vessel  of  state 
to  a  position  where  she  may  take  a  new  tack,  and  thereby  escape  all  the  shoals 
and  breakers  into  the  midst  of  which  a  false  steerage  has  run  her,  and  bring  her 
triumphantly  into  her  destined  port,  with  honour  to  yourselves  and  safety  to 
those  on  board.  Take  your  stand  boldly ;  avow  your  object ;  disclose  your 
measures,  and  let  the  people  see  clearly  that  you  intend  to  do  what  Jefferson 
designed,  but,  from  adverse  circumstances,  could  not  accomplish :  to  reverse  the 
measures  originating  in  principles  and  policy  not  congenial  with  our  political 
system ;  to  divest  the  Government  of  all  undue  patronage  and  influence  ;  to  re 
strict  it  to  the  few  great  objects  intended  by  the  Constitution  ;  in  a  word,  to 
give  a  complete  ascendency  to  the  good  old  Virginia  school  over  its  antagonist, 
which  time  and  experience  have  proved  to  be  foreign  and  dangerous  to  our  sys 
tem  of  Government,  and  you  may  count  with  confidence  on  their  support,  with 
out  looking  to  other  means  of  success.  Should  the  Government  take  such  a 
course  at  this  favourable  moment,  our  free  and  happy  institutions  may  be  perpet 
uated  for  generations,  but,  if  a  different,  short  will  be  their  duration."  Had 
the  course  advised  been  early  and  openly  avowed  and  vigorously  pursued  in 
time,  very  different  might  have  been  the  termination  of  the  last  presidential 
election  ;  and  it  may  be  added,  that  the  advice  is  not  less  applicable  to  the  com 
ing  than  to  the  past  election,  and,  if  the  Federal  consolidation  party  is  ever  to 
be  permanently  put  down,  and  the  State  Rights  Republican  party  to  gain  the 
permanent  ascendency,  it  can  only  be  effected  by  its  adhering  steadily  and  in 
good  faith  to  the  course  advised. 

The  next  session,  that  of  1839-40,  which  immediately  preceded  the  late 
presidential  election,  was  distinguished  for  the  number  and  importance  of  the 
subjects  that  were  agitated  and  discussed,  and,  it  may  be  added,  the  ability  and 
animation  of  the  discussions.  Among  the  more  prominent  of  these  may  be  in 
cluded  the  public  lands  ;  the  assumption  of  state  debts  ;  Mr.  Calhoun's  resolu 
tions  in  reference  to  the  case  of  the  Enterprise  ;  the  Bankrupt  Bill,  and  the  re 
peal  of  the  salt-tax ;  in  all  of  which  Mr.  Calhoun  took  a  prominent  part.*  His 
speeches  on  his  resolutions  and  on  the  assumption  of  state  debts  are  among  the 
ablest  he  ever  delivered,  and  are  worthy  of  the  attention  of  all  who  desire  to 
understand  the  subjects  which  they  discuss. 

The  presidential  election  having  terminated  in  favour  of  the  Whigs,  the  next 
session  was  principally  occupied  in  the  discussions  connecced  with  the  public 
lands,  preparatory  to  one  of  the  leading  objects  of  poliry  contemplated  under 
the  new  administration.  Mr.  Calhoun  made  three  speeches  on  the  subject  :f 
one  on  the  prospective  Pre-emption  Bill ;  another  on  an  amendment  to  it  pro 
posed  by  Mr.  Crittenden,  as  a  substitute,  to  distribute  the  revenue  from  the  pub 
lic  lands  among  the  states ;  and,  finally,  one  in  reply  to  Mr.  Webster  and  Mr. 
Clay.  In  these  the  whole  policy  of  the  public  lands,  and  the  various  plans 
which  were  proposed  in  reference  to  them,  were  discussed.  It  is  a  subject 
which  early  attracted  Mr.  Calhoun's  attention,  and  has  engrossed  much  of  his 
reflection. 

As  far  back  as  February,  1837,  he  offered  a  substitute,  in  the  form  of  an 

amendment  to  the  bill,  to  suspend  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  in  which  he 

proposed  to  cede  to  the  new  states  the  portion  of  the  public  lands  lying  within 

their  respective  limits,  on  certain  conditions,  which  he  accompanied  by  a  speech 

*  See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  Nos.  24,  25,  26,  27,  28,  and  29. 


66  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

explanatory  of  his  views  and  reasons.  He  followed  up  the  subject  in  a  speech 
delivered  in  January,  1839,  on  the  Graduation  Bill ;  and  in  May,  1840,  an 
elaborate  and  full  report  was  made  from  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  and  a 
bill  introduced  by  him,  containing  substantially  the  same  provisions  with  his 
original  proposition.  These,  with  his  three  speeches  already  referred  to,  con 
tain  a  full  view  of  his  objects  and  reasons  for  the  proposed  cession. 

There  have  been  few  measures  ever  presented  for  consideration  so  grossly 
misrepresented,  or  so  much  misconceived,  as  the  one  in  question.  It  has  been 
represented  as  a  gift — a  surrender — an  abandonment  of  the  public  domain  to 
the  new  states ;  and  having  assumed  that  to  be  its  true  character,  the  most  un 
worthy  motives  have  been  attributed  to  the  author  for  introducing  it.  Nothing 
is  more  untrue.  The  cession  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  conditional  sale, 
not  extended  to  the  whole  of  the  public  domain,  as  represented,  but  to  that  por 
tion  in  the  new  states  respectively  within  whose  limits  they  lie ;  the  greater 
part  of  which  are  mere  remnants,  which  have  long  since  been  offered  for  sale, 
without  being  sold. 

The  conditions  on  which  they  are  proposed  to  be  ceded  or  sold  are  drawn  up 
with  the  greatest  care,  and  with  the  strictest  provisions  to  ensure  their  fulfil 
ment  ;  one  of  which  is,  that  the  state  should  pay  65  per  cent,  of  the  gross  pro 
ceeds  of  the  sale  to  the  General  Government,  and  retain  only  35  per  cent, 
for  the  trouble,  expense,  and  responsibility  attending  their  administration.  An 
other  is,  that  the  existing  laws,  as  they  stand,  except  so  far  as  they  may  be  mod 
ified  or  authorized  to  be  modified  by  the  act  of  cession,  shall  remain  unchanged, 
unless  altered  by  the  joint  consent  of  the  General  Government  and  the  several 
states.  They  are  respectively  authorized,  if  they  should  think  proper,  to  adopt 
a  system  of  graduation  and  pre-emption  within  well-defined  and  safe  limits  pre 
scribed  in  the  conditions  ;  and  the  General  Government  is  authorized  to  appoint 
officers  in  the  several  states,  to  whom  its  share  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  shall 
be  directly  paid,  without  going  into  the  state  treasury ;  and  these  conditions  are 
put  under  the  guardianship  of  the  courts,  by  providing,  if  they  shall  be  violated, 
that  all  after  rules  by  the  state  shall  be  null  and  void.  So  far  from  this  being  a 
gift,  or  an  abandonment  of  the  public  lands  to  the  new  states,  he  has  clearly 
proved,  if  there  be  truth  in  figures,  that  the  Government  would  receive  a  great 
er  amount  of  revenue  from  the  lands  in  the  new  states,  under  the  system  he 
proposes,  than  under  the  present.  These  demonstrations  are  based  on  calcula 
tions  which  neither  have  nor  can  be  impugned. 

But  his  views  extended  far  beyond  dollars  and  cents  in  bringing  forward  the 
measure.  He  proposed  to  effect  by  it  the  high  political  objects  of  placing  the 
new  states  on  the  same  footing  of  equality  and  independence  with  the  old,  in 
reference  to  their  domain ;  to  cut  off  the  vast  amount  of  patronage  which  the 
public  lands  place  in  the  hand  of  the  executive ;  to  withdraw  them,  as  one 
of  the  stakes,  from  the  presidential  game  ;  to  diminish  by  one  fourth  the  busi 
ness  of  Congress,  and  with  it  the  length  and  expense  of  its  session  ;  to  enlist 
the  Government  of  the  new  states  on  the  side  of  the  General  Government ;  to 
aid  in  a  more  careful  administration  of  the  rest  of  the  public  domain,  and 
thereby  prevent  the  whole  of  it  from  becoming  the  property  of  the  occupants 
from  possession;  and,  finally,  to  prevent  the  too  rapid  extinction  of  Indian 
titles  in  proportion  to  the  demand  for  lands  from  the  increase  of  population, 
which  he  shows  to  be  pregnant  vnth  great  embarrassment  and  danger.  These 
are  great  objects,  of  high  political  import ;  and  if  they  could  be  effected  by  the 
measure  proposed,  it  is  justly  entitled  to  be  ranked  among  the  wisest  and  most 
politic  ever  brought  forward.  That  they  can  be  effected,  it  is  almost  impossi 
ble  for  any  well-informed  and  dispassionate  mind  deliberately  to  read  the 
speeches  and  documents  referred  to,  and  to  doubt. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  67 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Conclusion. 

ONE  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  administration  was  to  call  an  extra  session 
in  the  spring  of  1841.  Flushed  with  success,  and  confident  in  their  power  to 
consummate  their  entire  system  of  policy,  the  Whigs  assembled  at  the  commence 
ment  of  this  session  with  overwhelming  majorities  in  each  House  of  Congress. 
The  Republicans  came,  under  circumstances  well  calculated  to  dispirit  them, 
and  too  weak  in  point  of  numbers  to  have  made  an  efficient  opposition  except 
under  the  most  skilful  management.  It  soon  became  manifest,  as  the  plan  of 
the  campaign  was  developed,  that  the  majority  were  determined  to  sweep  every 
thing  by  "  coups-de-main,"  and  would  not  depend  upon  address  at  the  expense 
of  time  to  take  any  post  which  could  possibly  be  carried  by  storm.  They  com 
menced  in  the  House  of  Representatives  by  wresting  from  the  minority  some 
of  the  most  inestimable  of  the  privileges  of  debate  :  privileges  which  the  minority 
had  enjoyed  from  the  institution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  up  to  that  time, 
and  even  during  the  war,  when  the  opposition,  by  its  factious  course,  seemed 
to  have  justly  forfeited  all  respect,  if  it  had  not  been  deemed  the  sacred  right 
of  the  tax-payer  to  be  fully  heard  before  new  burdens  were  imposed  upon  him. 
But  the  minority  were  no  longer  allowed  to  debate  questions  in  the  Committee 
of  the  Whole  until  they  were  satisfied  with  the  hearing. 

The  majority  seized  the  power  of  arresting  the  debate  whenever  they  chose, 
and  thus,  under  the  pretence  of  preventing  factious  delays,  they  acquired  the 
means  of  terminating  the  discussion  whenever  it  searched  their  purposes  too 
deeply,  or  developed  too  strongly  the  consequences  of  their  measures.  Under 
this  state  of  things,  there  was  little  left  to  the  opposition  but  the  mere  vote  ;  and 
the  majority  so  completely  acquired  the  whole  sway  in  the  lower  House  that  it 
was  by  their  grace  only  that  their  opponents  could  even  remonstrate  against 
their  measures.  In  that  body  one  overruling  influence  seemed  to  prevail,  which 
did  not  emanate  from  within,  but  cast  its  shadow  from  without.  Nor  could  even 
the  fascinations  of  the  splendid  genius  that  controlled,  relieve  the  dull,  dreary, 
and  depressing  sense  of  dependance  under  which  that  House  seemed  to  think 
and  move.  In  the  Senate,  however,  this  tendency  to  the  absolute  power  of  a 
majority  met  with  a  severe  and  effective  resistance.  Determined  never  to  yieljjl 
up  the  arms  which  were  necessary  for  the  contest,  they  repelled  every  attempt 
to  introduce  "  the  gag."  Foremost  among  the  opposition  stood  Mr.  Calhoun,  and 
the  parliamentary  annals  of  the  world  hardly  afford  an  instance  of  a  more  formi 
dable  array  of  intellectual  force  than  that  opposition  then  presented.  Nothing 
could  be  more  brilliant  than  its  career  through  the  whole  of  this  short  but  event 
ful  session. 

The  majority  boldly  assumed  the  old  Federal  positions  upon  the  bank,  the 
tariff,  and  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands.  Confident  in 
their  strength  to  carry  it,  they  openly  avowed  their  system.  Profusion  in  pub 
lic  expenditure  and  special  legislation  seemed  to  be  the  order  of  the  day.  To 
the  shattered  victims  of  the  war  so  long  waged  by  the  stock  interests,  a  deliver 
ance  from  all  obligation  for  the  past  was  declared  in  the  Bankrupt  Law ;  and 
the  affiliated  system  of  the  bank,  the  tariff,  and  the  distribution  tempted  them 
with  an  almost  boundless  prospect  for  future  indulgence.  The  prodigal,  the 
idle,  the  desperate,  the  visionary  speculator,  and  even  the  cunning  usurer,  were 
each  invited,  by  some  appropriate  hope,  to  join  in  the  general  foray,  when 
the  whole  field  of  productive  industry  was  to  be  given  up  to  plunder.  There 
seemed  to  be  at  last  a  prospect  that  Hamilton's  system  would  prevail.  With  a 


68  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

revenue  decreasing  daily,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  proposed  an  annual  ex 
penditure  of  about  $27,000,000,  and  recommended  a  distribution  among  the  states 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands.  This  lavish  expenditure  was  to  be  main 
tained  from  customs  alone  ;  and  through  the  influence  of  another  bank  expansion, 
our  people  were  to  be  tempted  to  buy  freely  under  the  ruinous  rates  of  duties 
which  were  proposed.  Entreaty  and  remonstrance  were  alike  unavailing  with 
the  majority,  which  for  a  while  pursued  its  course  without  regard  to  the  rights 
of  the  states  or  the  freedom  of  individual  pursuits,  which  were  overwhelmed  in 
their  way.  The  whole  hope  of  an  efficient  resistance  to  these  measures  in 
Congress  now  rested  on  the  Senate,  where  the  necessary  privileges  of  debate 
were  still  retained.  Our  history  does  not  present  us  an  instance  of  an  opposi 
tion  more  distinguished  for  its  ability,  or  more  untiring  in  its  energy.  Its 
searching  gaze  seemed  to  read  the  hidden  purpose  with  almost  as  much  cer 
tainty  as  it  followed  the  open  movements  of  its  adversary.  The  purposes  and 
principles  of  the  system  proposed  by  the  majority  were  so  clearly  exposed  by 
skilful  amendments  or  in  vigorous  debate,  that  the  public  attention  was  fully 
aroused  and  directed  to  the  consequences  :  consequences  which  were  so  pow 
erfully  and  accurately  depicted,  that  even  the  authors  of  the  measures  would 
have  been  appalled  had  they  been  less  reckless  of  the  future.  The  natural  af 
finity  between  the  tariff  and  distribution,  which  Mr.  Calhoun  had  proclaimed  so 
long  before,  was  now  clearly  proved  by  the  course  of  the  majority  during  this 
session.  So  essential  did  they  deem  the  distribution  in  order  to  secure  the 
permanence  of  the  tariff,  that  they  ventured  upon  the  former  measure  at  every 
hazard,  and  at  a  time,  too,  when  the  revenue  was  deficient,  and  there  was  scarcely 
a  hope  that  the  customs  would  afford  money  enough  for  the  current  expenses  of 
the  Government.  This  ominous  combination,  which  Mr.  Calhoun  had  sacrificed 
so  much  to  avert,  was  now  at  hand,  and  he  met  it  in  a  speech,*  which  is  one  of 
the  finest  specimens  of  his  power  and  style.  There  are  portions  of  that  speech 
in  which  he  traces  the  consequences  of  distribution  with  a  spirit  of  inquiry  so 
eager,  so  searching,  so  keen,  that  he  forgets  himself  and  the  personal  feelings  of 
the  contest  in  the  contemplation  of  the  vision  of  ruin  before  him,  and  seems  to 
seek  relief  from  his  forebodings  by  unbosoming  himself  to  the  country.  The  ma 
jority  now  faltered,  for  the  first  time,  under  the  appeals  of  the  opposition,  and 
incorporated  a  provision  for  suspending  the  distribution  when  the  duties  upon 
imports  exceeded  a  certain  rate — a  provision  to  which  we  have  since  owed  the 
suspension  of  that  dangerous  act.  The  condition  of  the  finances,  which  seemed 
not  to  have  been  fully  appreciated  by  the  majority,  together  with  the  proviso  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  rendered  the  distribution  law  practically  inefficient. 
Their  bank  bills  had  been  vetoed  by  the  President,  from  whom  they  were  soon 
alienated ;  the  Bankrupt  Law  was  generally  odious,  and  it  seemed  to  require 
nothing  more  than  the  absurd  and  extravagant  Tariff  Act  of  the  succeeding  ses 
sion  to  consummate  their  ruin.  Thus  did  the  opposition  come  out  of  the  contest 
with  flying  colours  at  the  close  of  that  eventful  session.  The  part  which 
Calhoun  bore  in  this  crisis  is  so  justly  and  so  thoroughly  appreciated  by  the 
country,  that  no  particular  comment  upon  it  is  necessary. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  discussions  of  the  extra  session  and  of  that  which 
succeeded  it  were  important  and  exciting.  The  most  prominent  of  the  extra 
session  were  upon  the  McLeod  case,  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas 
ury,  and  the  Bankrupt  Law.f  The  debate  on  the  bank  bills  turned  almost  ex 
clusively  upon  the  details.  At  the  succeeding  session  the  principal  subjects 
were  the  Treasury  Note  Bill,  the  Veto  power,  Mr.  Clay's  resolutions  in  refer 
ence  to  the  revenue  and  expenditures,  the  Loan  Bill,  and  the  Tariff  Bill.  To 
Mr.  Calhoun's  speeches  upon  these  subjects  we  simply  refer,  because  they  are 
so  recent  as  to  be  familiar  to  all,  and  not  because  they  are  less  worthy  of  study 
than  some  others  of  a  more  distant  date,  from  which  we  have  extracted  freely. 
Indeed,  we  have  so  often  found  occasion  to  recommend  the  perusal  of  the  par- 
*  See  "  Speeches,"  <kc.,  No.  31.  t  Ibid.,  No.  30,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  69 

ticular  speech  to  which  we  were  referring,  that  we  were  almost  afraid  of  exci 
ting  the  suspicion  that  our  object  was  more  to  eulogize  the  statesman  than  to 
instruct  the  reader ;  and  yet  we  are  sure  that  all  who  study  these  speeches  will 
acquit  us  of  such  a  motive.  We  have  recommended  their  perusal  because  we 
believed  that  they  gave  the  best  view  of  the  state  of  public  affairs,  and  of  the 
mode  in  which  a  statesman  would  deal  with  such  events,  which  has  yet  been 
furnished  ;  nor  did  we  know  of  any  other  models,  either  of  statesmanship  or 
oratory,  in  our  own  parliamentary  annals,  to  which  we  could  better  invite  the 
attention  of  the  student.  Indeed,  we  could  scarcely  direct  him  amiss  among 
these  speeches  for  specimens  of  luminous  conceptions,  or  of  that  simple  and 
natural  order  of  propositions  which  constitutes  a  peculiar  charm  in  style,  and 
enables  the  orator  to  fascinate  his  audience,  and  carry  them  along  with  him. 
The  English  language  affords  no  finer  examples  than  are  to  be  found  in  these 
speeches  of  the  power  of  analysis  in  eliminating  the  truth  of  a  case  from  cir 
cumstances  which  obscure  and  embarrass  it.  Nor  are  there  any  more  attract 
ive  for  novel  and  profound  speculation,  in  which  he  sometimes  deals  when  such 
lights  and  shadows  are  necessary  to  complete  the  picture  which  he  is  drawing. 

In  how  many  of  the  unexplored  regions  of  human  thought  will  the  attentive 
reader  be  startled  to  find  the  trace  of  his  footstep,  and  yet  so  rapid  is  he  in  his 
flight  over  his  subject,  that  he  scarcely  takes  time  to  set  up  his  flag  on  the  lands 
which  he  has  found,  or  to  perpetuate  the  evidences  of  his  title  to  the  honours 
of  discovery. 

Here,  perhaps,  we  ought  to  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  man  and  of  his  public  services  from  the  narrative  which 
we  have  given  ;  and  yet  we  feel  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  him  to  understand 
either  fully,  even  with  the  aids  which  we  have  offered  him,  without  a  careful  study 
of  his  speeches,  reports,  and  other  public  addresses,  in  connexion  with  the  his-  ; 
tory  of  the  times  ;  a  study  to  which  we  again  commend  him,  as  well  worthy  of 
the  time  and  labour  which  it  may  cost.  For  ourselves,  we  can  truly  say,  that 
our  estimate  of  his  public  services  has  increased  with  our  opportunities  for  stud 
ying  them,  and  that  our  admiration  of  his  character  has  grown  as  his  private 
and  political  history  became  more  familiar  to  us.  Indeed,  it  would  almost  seem 
to  us,  at  times,  that  it  belonged  to  the  destiny  of  the  American  people  to  have: 
reared  up  such  a  man,  and  that  one  of  its  necessities  required  him  to  pursue- 
that  long  and  stormy  career,  through  which  he  has  watched  and  helped  to  steer 
the  ship  of  state  with  an  eye  that  never  winked  and  an  energy  that  never  tired. 
It  required  his  indomitable  will,  and  a  nature  thus  rarely  constituted,  to  have 
maintained  this  eager  and  incessant  labour  for  the  happiness  of  the  American 
people,  and  to  have  led,  for  so  long  a  period,  the  triumphal  march  of  our  glori 
ous  institutions.  With  a  turn  of  mind  naturally  philosophical,  his  great  power 
of  analysis  and  his  faculty  of  attentive  observation  early  enabled  him  to  form  a 
system  for  the  conduct  of  life,  both  in  his  private  and  public  relations,  and  to 
determine  within  his  own  mind  upon  the  tme  ends  of  human  action ;  ends 
which  he  has  pursued  with  a  matchless  constancy,  while  a  knowledge  of  his 
ultimate  destination  and  of  the  high  objects  of  his  journey  has  cheered  him 
along  through  the  thorny  paths  of  public  life.  Of  all  the  men  whom  we  have 
ever  seen,  he  seems  to  us  to  have  surveyed  most  completely  the  whole  ground 
of  human  action.  To  these  advantages  he  adds  another,  which  constitutes, 
perhaps,  his  highest  quality  as  a  statesman.  It  is  the  faculty  of  considering 
circumstances  in  their  combinations,  and  of  determining  their  relative  power  in 
propelling  events.  To  analyze  this  combination,  or  "juncture"  (as  he  some 
times  calls  it),  and  to  determine  the  resultant  of  all  these  forces,  is,  in  his  opin-  [ 
ion,  the  highest  and  rarest  faculty  of  a  statesman.  If  he  values  this  power  | 
more  than  most  others,  it  is  because  he  has  derived  more  benefit  from  its  use, 
and  well  may  he  estimate  highly  that  quality  which,  by  affording  him  an  insight 
into  futurity  far  beyond  the  usual  range  of  human  vision,  has  given  him  such 


70  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

control  over  events.  These  were  the  gifts  in  whose  strength  he  presented  him 
self  on  the  stage  of  the  world  in  the  very  commencement  of  his  public  life,  as 
one  fully  grown  and  armed  for  the  trials  which  belonged  to  the  time  and  the 
place.  True  to  those  noble  instincts  which  spring  more  from  a  Divine  source 
than  from  human  reason,  he  ever  leaned  to  liberty  as  against  power,  and  early 
learned  to  resist  those  temptations  which  so  often  lead  man  to  increase  the 
power  of  the  mass,  which  he  is  content  to  share  as  a  member,  at  the  expense 
of  those  separate  and  individual  rights  of  which  nature  constituted  him  the  pe 
culiar  guardian,  and  which  were  only  given  as  the  means  of  self-culture,  and  its 
indispensable  to  the  moral  elevation  of  his  being. 

His  public  life  may  be  divided  into  two  grand  epochs  :  the  first,  in  which  he 
put  forth  his  whole  energies  to  enable  his  countrymen  to  maintain  their  inde 
pendence  against  foreign  aggression  ;  and  the  second,  in  which  he  undertook  the 
more  difficult  task  of  freeing  their  domestic  legislation  from  those  devices  by 
which  one  was  enabled  to  prey  upon  another.  In  each  of  these  periods  he  has 
been  emphatically  "  the  man  of  his  time,"  and  he  has  ever  regarded  the  tenets 
of  the  Republican  party  as  indicating  the  best  means  of  attaining  these  ends 
under  our  form  of  government.  Of  all  men  now  living,  he,  perhaps,  has  con 
tributed  most  to  illustrate  and  establish  that  political  creed.  We  are  aware  that 
we  expose  ourselves  here  to  the  sneers  of  some  of  those  literal  expositors  of  the 
law,  who  believe  that  man  was  made  for  the  Sabbath  and  not  the  Sabbath  for 
man.  But  we  repeat  the  assertion,  that  in  all  the  public  exigencies  in  which 
he  was  called  to  act,  he  made  the  nearest  practical  approach  to  the  great  ends 
of  the  Republican  party  which  human  wisdom  or  foresight  could  then  devise. 
In  all  the  great  measures  of  our  government  since  he  first  entered  Congress, 
his  influence  has  been  felt  either  in  their  origination  or  modification,  and  to  this 
influence  more  than  any  other  the  Republican  party  is  indebted  for  its  present 
proud  position  before  the  world. 

Morally  considered,  the  great  objects  of  the  Republican  party  are  simple  and 
few.  Its  first  is  to  preserve,  as  far  as  possible,  the  independence  of  individual 
action  and  pursuit ;  and  it  rejects  all  limitations  upon  this  independence  which 
are  not  essential  to  the  great  ends  of  social  organization.  It  regards  all  of  those 
powers  which  man  wields  in  his  aggregate  or  corporate  capacity  as  so  many 
limitations  upon  his  individual  rights,  and  it  yields  those  which  are  indispensa 
ble  to  the  institution  of  society  as  so  many  concessions  which  necessity  has  ex 
torted  from  liberty.  These  are  the  terms  upon  which  they  would  grant  Govern 
ment  its  powers ;  and  they  would  administer  the  power  thus  limited  with  an 
equal  regard  for  all  who  are  entitled  to  share  the  benefits  of  the  trust.  Tried  by 
these  tests,  Mr.  Calhoun  has  nothing  to  fear,  when  the  circumstances  are  con 
sidered  under  which  he  was  called  to  act. 

In  the  first  epoch  of  his  public  life,  we  were  forced  to  defend  ourselves  in  a 
war  with  the  most  formidable  nation  of  the  globe,  and  with  the  only  power 
whose  arm  was  long  enough  to  reach  us  in  our  distant  position,  and  within  the 
defences  of  so  many  natural  barriers.  In  its  commencement  it  was  a  war  of 
independence,  and  it  might  become  a  contest  for  existence.  In  this  state  of 
things,  it  was  in  our  aggregate  power  alone  that  we  were  to  find  the  strength  to 
resist  foreign  assaults,  and  every  American  patriot  sought  the  means  of  increas 
ing  it  as  far  as  the  limitations  of  the  Constitution  would  permit.  The  war  was 
a  measure  of  the  Republican  party,  and  the  unpatriotic  course  of  the  opposition 
devolved  upon  them  alone  the  duty  of  devising  the  means  to  prosecute  it.  Un 
der  these  circumstances,  the  Republican  party  deflected  from  the  natural  line  of 
their  direction,  and,  sought  to  concentrate  as  much  power  in  the  Government  as 
they  then  believed  indispensable  for  the  successful  conduct  of  the  warT  How 
far  they  were  right  or  wrong,  it  is  not  our  province  here  tcTdetermme  ;  but  cer 
tain  it  is,  that  there  was  much  in  the  overruling  power  of  circumstances  to  jus 
tify  their  course  and  excuse  their  errors,  if  errors  they  may  be  called.  With 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  71 

how.  much  more  justice  may  the  same  apology  be  made  for  Mr.  Calhoun  him 
self.  The  leading  advocate  of  hostilities  and  the  chairman  of  the  committee 
which  reported  the  declaration  ot  Will,  vvilli  a  deep  iUHpimsibility  to  the~country 
for  the  success  of  that  contest,  wmcn  ne  was  accused  of  precipitating ;  young, 
ardent,  and  indignant  at  the  course  of  foreign  and  domestic  enemies,  it  is  sur 
prising  that  he  was  not  less  scrupulous  of  the  Constitution  in  calling  forth  the 
means  of  defending  it,  and  our  people  against  foreign  expositions  of  law  and 
justice,  which  ultimately  might  have  overturned  all,  unless  arrested  by  our 
successful  resistance.  And  yet,  upon  how  many  great  occasions  did  he  re 
strain  the  Republican  party  from  aberrations  from  their  principles. 

It  was  he  who  opposed  the  restrictive  system  against  the  majority  of  the  party. 
It  was  he'too,  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  resisting  the  system  of_forced 
loans  in  the  case  of  the  merchants'  bonds,  and  who  defe~aied  Mr.  ballas's  vast 
scheme  of  a  national  bank  to  issue  irredeemable  paper,  which  was  recommend 
ed  by  a  Republican  President  and  supported  by  the  party.  Session  after  ses 
sion  did  he  combat  it,  until  he  succeeded  in  restoring  to  the  country  a  specie- 
paying  paper,  and  something  like  uniformity  in  the  medium  in  which  its  taxes 
were  collected.  And  although  the  opinions  of  that  day,  growing  out  of  the  exi 
gencies  of  the  war,  exaggerated  the  necessity  for  roads  and  canals  as  military 
defences,  and  called  for  the  general  use  of  a  power  which  was  given  by  the 
Constitution  within  the  narrowest  limits,  it  is  remarkable  that  he  has  nowhere 
expressly  affirmed  the  existence  of  such  a  power  in  the  Federal  Government. 

His  views  of  the  proper  use  to  be  made  of  this  power,  if  it  existed,  or 
could  be  obtained,  when  given  in  obedience  to  a  call  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
resentatives,  were  perhaps  the  ablest  ever  taken  of  the  relation  of  this  subject  to 
our  military  defences,  yet  he  cautiously  abstained  from  deciding  the  constitu 
tional  question.  This  was  before  the  Republican  party  had  paused  in  that  ca 
reer  in  which  they  were  concentrating  power  within  to  defend  themselves  against 
attacks  from  without.  In  a  review  of  this  period  of  his  life,  it  may  with  truth 
be  said,  that  all  those  acts  for  which  he  has  been  reproached  as  departures  from 
the  State  Rights  creed,  were  substitutes  for  much  worse  measures,  which,  but 
for  him,  his  party  would  have  adopted ;  and,  although  some  of  them  were  nei 
ther  the  wisest  nor  best,  according  to  the  present  standard  of  information,  they 
were  each  the  nearest  approach  to  the  true  Republican  line  of  action  which 
was  permitted  by  the  state  of  public  knowledge  and  feeling  at  the  time.  But, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  errors  of  the  early  part  of  his  public  life,  he  nobly 
redeemed  them  in  thesecond  peripd^wlnch  commenced  from  his  election  to 
,the  vice-presidency"  It  was  during  the  interval  then  allowed  for  reflection 
that  he  nrst  examined  thoroughly  the  working  of  the  machinery  of  the  Govern 
ment  in  its  internal  as  well  as  its  external  relations.  He  was  among  the  first 
of  the  Rftjmblican  party  to  pause  in  that  career  by  which  power  had  been  con 
solidated  in  the  Federal  Government,  without  due  reflection  upon  its  conse 
quences  to  the  states  and  the  people.  He  saw  that  the  distribution  of  the  polit-. 
ical  powers  of  our  system,  as  contemplated  by  the  Constitution,  had  been  de 
ranged,  and  that  vast  affiliated  stock  interests  had  been  permitted  to  grow  up 
almost  unconsciously,  which  threatened  to  absorb  the  whole  power  and  influ 
ence  of  the  Confederacy,  and  to  substitute  a  government  of  the  few  for  that  of  the 
many ;  and,  worse  than  all,  he  saw  many  of  the  Republican  party  so  deeply 
entangled  in  the  consequences  of  past  action,  and  so  little  aware  of  the  mis 
chiefs  which  threatened  them,  that  it  was  impossible  to  receive  their  co-oper 
ation  in  the  efforts  which  were  necessary  to  save  the  Government  from  deep 
organic  derangement,  and  the  party  itself  from  utter  annihilation.  His  position 
gave  him  a  deep  interest  in  the  unity  of  the  party,  if  he  had  looked  to  himself 
alone ;  the  road  to  office  was  open  and  easy ;  but  the  higher  and  more  alluring 
path  to  fame  lay  along  a  steeper  route  and  over  rugged  and  difficult  precipices. 
Between  these  alternatives  he  did  not  hesitate,  but  determined  at  once  to  strike 


72  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

the  blows  he  believed  to  be  necessary  to  save  the  country  and  restore  the  party 
te  its  pristine  purity  of  faith  and  practice.  We  have  given  the  history  of  the 
memorable  contest  in  which,  with  unexampled  odds  against  him,  he  maintained 
his  foothold  and  accomplished  his  grand  design. 

We  have  seen  the  series  of  skilful  movements  and  masterly  combina 
tions  by  which,  with  comparatively  few  forces,  he  occupied  and  manfully 
contested  every  inch  of  disputed  territory,  until  he  finally  struck  down  the 
protective  system  with  blows  from  which  it  never  can  entirely  recover 
in  the  face  of  the  formidable  array  against  him,  wielding  the  battle-axe 
of  Richard  or  the   cimeter  of  Saladin,  as  strength    or  skill    might   best 
serve  his  turn.     Ever  ready,  cheerful,  and  confident, ,he. sometimes  obtain 
ed  concessions  from  mere  respect  to  his  gallantry  and  prowess,  which  no 
force  at  his  disposal  could  then  have  extorted.*  Experience  now  proved 
that  he  had  not  been  a  moment  too  soon  in  striking  at  the  protective  sys 
tem.     The  Republican  party  had  been  gradually  wasting   under  the  as 
saults  of  their  open  enemies,  and  the  moral  influences  of  the   stock  in 
terests.     The  banks,  deprived  for  the  time  of  their  natural  ally  the  tariff, 
were  forced  to  take  the  field  alone,  and  the  difficulty  which  the  Republi 
cans  experienced  in  coping  with  this  single  interest,  proved  how  impossi 
ble  it  would  ha've  been  for  them  to  have  resisted  the  whole  affiliated  sys 
tem  if  its  strength  had  been  unimpaired,  and  its  united  forces  directed 
against  them.     They  now  saw  that  Mr.  Calhoun  had  been  warring  all  along, 
not  against  them,  but  a  common  enemy,  which,  but  for  him,  might  have 
overwhelmed  all  together.     Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  left  his  ancient  friends 
in  their  strength  to  reform,  but  not  to  destroy,  now  returned  to  them  in 
their  weakness  to  cheer,  to  animate,  to  rally,  and  defend  them,  and  was 
prouder  of  their  alliance  upon  principle  in  their  period  of  adversity  than 
he  would  have  been  of  all  the   honours  which  they  could  have  heaped 
upon  him  in  their  prosperity.     It  was  not  in  his  nature  to  regard  the  exe 
crations  which  these  stock  interests  poured  out  upon   him.     They  had 
too  often  tried  the  temper  of  his  steel  not  to  know  the  force  of  the  arm 
which  wielded  it,  and  it  was  perhaps   with  as  much  of  despair  as  rage 
that  privilege  saw  its  ancient  and  well-trained  adversary  take  the  field  with 
additional  strength  against  it.     Mr.  Calhoun  did  not  now  direct  his  atten 
tion  so  much  to  mere  affairs  of  outposts  as  to  placing  the  party  upon  that 
solid  platform  of  principle,  in  which  he  well  knew  that  the  whole  batter 
ing  train  of  the  Federal  hosts  could  never  effect  a  breach.     With  a  true 
military  eye,  he  readily  seized  all  the  advantages  of  position,  and  under 
his  advice  mainly,  they  have,  at  every  sacrifice,  directed  column  after  col- 
umn'upon  this  elevated  post,  where  they  now  command  the  field,  and  from 
which,  if  not  abandoned  or  lost  by  want  of  vigilance,  they  must  ultimately 
\\  recover  the  country. 

Wvi  He  is  now  about  to  retire  from  the  theatre  of  public  life,  neither  weari- 
4rd  nor  worn,  but  because  his  work  is  done,  so  far,  at  least,  as  senatorial 
life  can  afford  him  any  useful  part  to  play.  If  there  be  any  new  field  of 
action  worthy  of  his  powers,  and  as  yet  untrodden  by  him,  it  is  in  that 
highest  executive  sphere,  for  which  the  character  of  his  mind  and  the  ex 
perience  of  his  life  have  so  eminently  fitted  him.  It  is,  perhaps,  only  upon 
this  theatre  that  his  countrymen  would  not  now  exclaim,  "  Superfluous 
lags  the  veteran  on  the  stage,"  and  it  is  there  that  they  will  probably  re 
quire  him  to  consummate,  as  perhaps  he  alone  can  do,  those  great  Repub 
lican  reforms  so  cherished  by  the  party,  as  destined  to  commend  it  to  the 
grateful  regards  of  posterity.  We  cannot  better  close  this  sketch  than  by 
extracting  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Calhoun  as  a  man  and  an  orator,  which  was 
drawn  by  a  friendly  hand,  it  is  true,  but  which  we  recognise  as  being  so 
just  and  well  executed  that  we  gladly  adopt  it  as  our  own. 


LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN.  73 

In  his  person  Mr.  Calhoun  is  slender  and   tall.     His  countenance,  at 
rest,  is  strikingly  marked  with  decision  and  firmness.     In  conversation  it 
is  highly  animated,  expressive,  and  indicative  of  genius.     His  eyes  are 
large,  dark,  brilliant,  and  penetrating,  and  leave  no  doubt,  at  first  view,  of 
a   high  order  of   intellect.     His  manners  are  easy,  natural,  and  unassu 
ming,  and  as  frank  as  they  are  cordial  and  kind.     In  all  his  domestic  rela 
tions  his  life  is  without  a  blemish.     He  has  none  of  the  cautious  reserve 
and  mystery  of  common  politicians  ;    for  he  has  nothing  to  conceal  or 
disguise.     He  is  accessible  to  all,  agreeable,  animated,  instructive,  and 
eloquent  in  conversation,  and  communicates  his  opinions  with  the  utmost 
freedom.     Some   politicians   seek   popularity  by  carefully   avoiding    re 
sponsibility.     Whatever  popularity  Mr.  Calhoun  possesses   has,  on  the 
contrary,  been  acquired  by  bold  and  fearless  assumption  of  responsibility 
on  all  critical  and  trying  occasions.     His  judgment  is  so  clear  and  dis 
criminating,  that  he  seems  to  possess  a  sort  of  prophetic  vision  of  future 
events,  and  on  occasions  when  most  men  doubt  and  hesitate,  he  decides 
with  confidence,  follows  up  his  decision  with  undoubting  firmness,  and 
has  never  failed  in  the  end  to  be  justified  by  time,  the  arbiter  of  all  things. 
Few  men  have  been  called  upon  to  pass  through  scenes  of  higher  polit 
ical  excitement,  and  to  encounter  more  vigorous  and  unrelenting  opposi 
tion  than  Mr.  Calhoun ;  yet,  amid  all  the  prejudices  which  party  feeling 
engenders,  and  all  the  jealousy  of  political  rivals,  and  all  the  animosity 
of  political  opponents,  no  one  has  yet  ventured  to  hazard  his  own  repu 
tation  for  judgment  or  sincerity  so  far  as  to  doubt  one  moment  his  great, 
and  commanding  talents. 

As  an  orator,  Mr.  Calhoun  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  of  parliamentary 
speakers.  On  first  rising  in  debate,  he  always  felt  the  anxiety  of  diffi 
dence,  arising  from  a  sensibility  which  is  almost  always  the  companion 
of  true  genius.  His  manner  of  speaking  is  energetic,  ardent,  rapid,  and 
marked  by  a  solemn  earnestness,  which  leaves  no  doubt  of  his  sincerity 
and  deep  conviction,  s  His  style  is  pure,  forcible,  logical,  and  condensed  ; 
often  figurative  for  illustration,  never  for  ornament.  His  mind  is  well 
stored  with  the  fruits  of  learning,  but  still  better  with  those  of  observa 
tion  and  reflection.  Hence  depth,  originality,  and  force  characterize  all 
his  speeches.  He  lays  his  premises  on  a  foundation  too  broad,  solid,  and 
deep  to  be  shaken  ;  his  deductions  are  clear  and  irresistible  ;  "  the  strong 
power  of  genius,"  to  adopt  the  language  of  the  eloquent  Pinkney,  in  re 
ferring  to  Mr.  Calhoun's  splendid  speech  on  the  treaty-making  power, 
"  from  a  higher  region  than  that  of  argument,  throws  on  his  subjects  all 
the  light  with  which  it  is  the  prerogative  of  genius  to  invest  and  illus 
trate  everything."  And  his  speeches,  full  of  the  most  elevated  and  pa 
triotic  sentiments,  after  conquering  the  understanding,  take  the  heart 
entirely  captive,  and  carry  along  his  hearers,  often  unconsciously,  and 
sometimes  against  their  will,  to  the  point  he  desires. 

Mr.  Calhoun  had  attained  so  high  a  reputation  as  a  member  of  Con 
gress,  that  it  was  thought  by  many  that  he  was  leaving  his  appropriate 
field  when  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  War.  On  the 
contrany,  his  new  situation  only  presented  another  theatre  for  the  exer 
cise  of  his  great  and  diversified  talents.  The  distinguishing  feature  of 
his  mind,  the  power  of  analysis,  was  now  to  be  exercised  in  the  practical 
business  of  Government,  and  at  once,  as  by  enchantment,  order,  efficiency, 
and  perfect  accountability  sprang  from  the  chaos  in  which  he  found  the 
department,  and  demonstrated  that  his  energy  in  execution  was  equal  to  his 
wisdom  in  organizing,  and  left  it  doubtful  whether  his  legislative  talents 
were  not  surpassed  by  his  practical  ability  in  administration. 

As  a  statesman,  in  the  most  enlarged  and  elevated  sense  of  the  term, 

K 


74  LIFE  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN 

Mr.  Calhoun  has  no  superior.  A  philosophical  observer  of  men  and  of 
their  affairs,  he  analyzes  and  reduces  all  things  to  their  original  elements, 
and  draws  thence  those  general  principles,  which,  with  inconceivable 
rapidity  and  unerring  certainty,  he  applies  on  all  occasions,  and  banishes 
the  perplexity  and  doubt  by  which  ordinary  minds  are  overwhelmed  and 
confounded.  By  this  wonderful  faculty,  he  is  enabled  to  decide  at  once, 
not  only  what  measures  are  at  present  necessary  for  a  government  novel 
in  its  principles,  and  placed  in  circumstances  of  which  there  is  no  pre 
cedent  in  the  history  of  mankind,  but,  by  discerning  results  through  their 
causes,  to  look  into  futurity,  and  to  devise  means  for  carrying  on  our  be 
loved  country  in  a  direct  path  to  the  high  and  glorious  destiny  which, 
under  the  guidance  of  wisdom  and  virtue,  awaits  her. 

To  the  highest  powers  of  mind  Mr.  Calhoun  unites  those  elevated 
moral  qualities,  which  are  equally  essential  with  ability  to  complete  the 
character  of  a  perfect  statesman:  inflexible  integrity,  honour  without  a 
stain,  disinterestedness,  temperance,  and  industry  j  a  firmness  of  purpose 
which  disdains  to  calculate  the  consequences  of  doing  his  duty ;  pru 
dence  and  energy  in  action,  devotion  to  his  country,  and  inextinguishable 
love  of  liberty  and  justice.  To  these  great  qualities,  perhaps,  we  ought 
to  add  a  lofty  ambition ;  but  it  is  an  ambition  that  prefers  glory  to  office 
and  power,  which  looks  upon  the  latter  only  as  a  means  for  acquiring  the 
former,  and  which,  by  the  performance  of  great  and  virtuous  actions  for 
the  accomplishment  of  noble  ends,  aims  at  the  establishment  of  a  widely- 
extended  and  ever-during  fame.  This  ingredient,  which  enters  into  the 
composition  of  all  great  and  powerful  minds,  seems  intended  by  Provi 
dence  to  stimulate  them  to  the  highest  pitch  of  exertion  in  the  service 
of  mankind ;  and  if  it  be  a  defect,  it  is  one  which  Mr.  Calhoun  shares,  as 
well  as  all  their  high  qualities,  with  the  most  perfect  models  of  Greek 
and  Roman  excellence. 

To  those  who  have  not  been  attentive  observers  of  the  life,  character, 
and  conduct  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  or  who  may  have  been  alienated  by  political 
conflicts,  the  above  portraiture  may  seem  to  derive  some  of  its  colour 
ing  from  the  partial  pencil  of  friendship.  If  an  intimate  connexion  of 
that  kind  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  may  be  supposed  to 
tincture  the  writer's  mind  with  partiality,  it  will  be  allowed,  at  the  same 
time,  that  it  affords  the  best  possible  opportunity  of  forming  an  accurate 
estimate  of  the  moral  and  political  character  of  the  subject  of  this  me 
moir.  His  statements  of  fact  and  opinion  he  knows  to  be  entirely  authentic  ; 
and  after  a  deliberate  review  of  every  sentence  and  word  he  has  written, 
he  finds  nothing  which  a  reverence  for  justice  and  truth  will  allow  him 
to  alter. 


SPEECHES,  &c.,  OP  THE  HON.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN, 

REFERRED  TO   IN   HIS   LIFE,  AND   WHICH  ARE   PUBLISHED   IN   SEPARATE    VOLUMES,    AND    NUMBER 
ED  1  tO  38. 


Speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1812  (1st  session  of  12th  Congress), 
in  reply  to  John  Randolph  and  in  favour  of  Preparation  for  War. 

See  Life,  page  9,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  1. 
Onslow's  Letters  in  reply  to  Patrick  Henry  (Nos.  1  and  2). 

See  Life,  p.  32,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  2. 

Address,  stating  his  opinion  of  the  relations  which  the  States  and  General  Government  bear 
to  each  other.  South  Carolina,  July  26,  1831. 

See  Life,  p.  38,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  3. 
Letter  to  General  Hamilton  on  the  subject  of  State  Interposition.     South  Carolina,  Aug. 

oj2      I  QQO 

See  Life,  p.  41,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  4. 

The  following  Speeches  and  Reports  were  delivered  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  during 

a  period  of  ten  years  (from  February,  1833,  to  February,  1843) : 
Feb.  15,  1833.     Speech  against  the  Force  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  46,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  5. 
Feb.  26,  1833.     Speech  on  his  Resolutions  and  in  reply  to  Mr.  Webster. 

See  Life,  p.  46,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  6. 
Jan.  13,  1834.     Speech  on  the  Subject  of  the  Removal  of  the  Deposites. 

See  Life,  p.  49,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  7. 
March  26,  1834.     Speech  on  Mr.  Webster's  Proposition  to  Recharter  the  United  States  Bank. 

See  Life,  p.  52,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  8. 
April  9,  1834.     Speech^  the  Bill  to  Repeal  the  Force  Act. 

See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  9. 
Feb.  9,  1835.     A  Report  on  the  Extent  of  Executive  Patronage. 

See  Life,  p.  55,  and  "Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  10. 

Feb.  4,  1836.  A  Report  on  that  portion  of  the  President's  Message  which  related  to  the 
adoption  of  efficient  measures  to  prevent  the  circulation  of  incendiary  Abolition  Publications 
through  the  mail. 

See  Life,  p.  58,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  11. 
March  9,  1836.     Speech  on  the  Abolition  Petitions. 

See  Life,  p.  58,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  12. 

April  12,  1836.  Speech  on  the  Bill  to  Prohibit  Deputy  Postmasters  from  receiving  or  trans 
mitting  through  the  mail  certain  papers  therein  mentioned. 

See  Life,  p.  58,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  13. 
Feb.,  1837.     Speech  on  the  Reception  of  Abolition  Petitions. 

See  Life,  p.  58,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  14. 
May  28,  1836.     Speech  on  the  Public  Deposites. 

See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  15. 
Jan.  2,  1837.     Speech  on  the  Bill  for  the  Admission  of  Michigan. 

See  Life,  p.  59,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  16. 
Jan.  5,  1837.     Speech  on  the  same  subject. 

See  Life,  p.  59,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  17. 
Sept.  19,  1837.     Speech  on  the  Bill  authorizing  an  Issue  of  Treasury  Notes. 

See  Life,  p.  60,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  18. 
Oct.  3,  1837.     Speech  on  his  Amendment  to  separate  the  Government  from  the  Banks. 

See  Life,  p.  60,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  19. 
Feb.  15,  1838.     Speech  on  the  Sub-Treasury  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  62,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  20. 
March  10,  1838.     Speech  on  the  same,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Clay. 

See  Life,  p.  62,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  21. 
March  22,  1838.     Speech  on  the  same,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Webster. 

See  Life,  p.  62,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  22. 

Feb.  22,  1839.  Speech  on  the  Bill  to  prevent  the  Interference  of  certain  Federal  Officers  in 
Elections. 

See  Life,  p.  64,  and  «  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  23. 

Feb.  5,  1840.  Speech  on  the  Report  of  Mr.  Grundy,  of  Tennessee,  in  relation  to  the  Assump 
tion  of  the  Debts  of  the  States  by  the  Federal  Government. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  24. 


76  LIr  E  OF  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

March  13,  1840.     Speech  on  his  Resolutions  in  reference  to  the  Case  of  the  Enterprise. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  25. 
June  2,  1840.     Speech  on  the  Bankrupt  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  26. 
Jan.  12,  1841.     Speech  on  the  Prospective  Pre-emption  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  No.  27. 
Jan.  23,  1841.     Speech  on  the  Bill  to  Distribute  the  Proceeds  of  the  Public  Lands. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  28. 

Jan.  30,  1841.     Speech  in  reply  to  the  Speeches  of  Mr.  Webster  and  Mr.  Clay  on  Mr.  Critten- 
den's  Amendment  to  the  Pre-emption  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  65,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  29. 
June  11,  1841.     Speech  on  the  Case  of  M'Leod. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  30. 
Aug.  24,  1841.     Speech  on  the  Distribution  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  31. 
Jan.  25,  1842.     Speech  on  the  Treasury  Note  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  32. 
Feb.  28,  1842.     Speech  in  Support  of  the  Veto  Power. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  33. 

March  16,  1842.     Speech  on  Mr.  Clay's  Resolutions  in  relation  to  the  Revenue  and  Expendi 
tures  of  the  Government. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  34. 
April  12,  1842.     Speech  on  the  Loan  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  35. 
Aug.  5,  1842.     Speech  on  the  Passage  of  the  Tariff  Bill. 

See  Life,  p.  68,  and  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  36. 
Aug.  16,  1842.     Speech  on  the  Treaty  of  Washington. 

See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  37. 
Feb.,  1843.     Speech  on  the  Bill  for  the  Occupation  of  the  Oregon  Territory.  90 

See  "  Speeches,"  &c.,  No.  38. 


February,  1843 

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